


Counting Stars

by Marcythewolf



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: 4 year time skip, A mixture of angst and fluff, Aged up characters, Attempted Murder, Blood, Burning, Chaptered, Completed, F/F, Happy Ending, Honestly the writing gets better later on, Horrible and cringy undertale puns, LGBT characters, M/M, Mutual Pining, My writing is a little cringy, Original Characters - Freeform, Pacifica fucking decks bill, Pacifica just needs hug tbh, Paz and mabel are awkward gays, Possesion, Queer Characters, Sharing a Bed, Short Chapters, Stabbing, Strong Female Characters, Tad's dream demon in this fic, Temporarily Human Bill Cipher, The Apocalypse, This is old but gold, Weirdmageddon, Will add tags as I update, im so sorry, pre written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 09:58:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 39,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12166641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marcythewolf/pseuds/Marcythewolf
Summary: "Don't be scaredwe were born preparedfor this journey, full of mysterytime to explore this wonderreach answers that we hungerdiscover the truths hiddenwe can't runtrust no onetake my hand and we'll see allthe secrets of Gravity Falls"Ever since Mabel saved Pacifica's life (multiple times) she's had a crush on the brunette twin. Fast forward four years and nothing has changed. Will Pacifica admit her feelings to Mabel or will a certain triangle come back to ruin her chance?My Tumblr





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is already completed so I'll try and post the chapters as often as I can. It was written a long time ago so excuse any cringy writing I guess.

Pacifica Northwest had never run this fast in her life. She didn't know where she was going but she hoped it was the way to the mystery shack if not, she was screwed. She could hear heavy footsteps behind her, they were getting closer every stride. The twelve-year-old held her breath, closed her eyes and ran into a bush, hoping she could hide and find out where she was.

She could hear the footsteps slowing to where she now sat. She curled up and tried to make herself as small as possible. 

"Where are you llama?" His strange voice echoed in the empty forest, making Pacifica shiver.

More footsteps, this time heading from the opposite direction. They stopped just beside the bush.

"Dipper?" A familiar gravelly voice. 

Pacifica, careful not to give her current location away, peered through a gap, watching the old man walk out to the brunette with raised eyebrows. 

Pacifica wanted to yell out to the old man to run but she kept her mouth shut, just watching as he got closer.

"Fez" 

The old man stopped in his tracks, adjusting the maroon fez on top of his head awkwardly, giving the boy a confused look.

"Dipper are you ok?" He asked, sounding more curious than scared or worried.

Dipper grinned, showing large fangs, his glowing yellow eyes lighting up. 

Stanley's eyes widened and he took a long step back. He held out his hands, shaking his head.

"What have you done with my nephew" Stan grit his teeth "Bipper".

Judging by his tone, Pacifica guessed it wasn't the first time this had happened. 

"Look fez, I'm not gonna hurt you" a smug look settled on the young twins face, unnatural to his usual expression of tiredness, stress and anxiety. 

Dipper never looked like that, his face stretched into a grotesque grin, so wide that his gums were showing. 

"Then why are you here?"

Bipper raised his eyebrows "I'm looking for someone".

"Who?" Stan looked hesitant, like he was ready to sprint back to the shack if anything happened. Pacifica was ready to do the same.

"Llama" Bipper replied and after Stan gave him a confused look, he went on "you know, the blonde kid".

Still, Stan was confused.

Bipper grunted impatiently "the rich one?"

"Ooooh" Stan nodded, understanding.

Pacifica scowled, she hated the fact that people knew her as the fake blonde rich girl who could just whisk all her problems away with a click of her fingers. 

"Did you see where she went? I think she was heading towards the shack" Bipper said, mostly talking to himself rather than to the old man next to him. 

Something clicked in Stans head and he went tense, a worried look on his features "where's Mabel..."

Pacifica stopped breathing, her eyes growing wider. He was right, where was Mabel? 

Bipper threw back his head and laughed. Pacifica flinched at the sound. It sounded like Dipper's laugh but more echoey and... She couldn't really explain but she did know that it was awful.

"Don't worry, Shooting Star's fine" he shrugged off Stan's question, wiping away a tear and chuckling.

"You didn't answer my question, Bill" 

Pacifica couldn't take it anymore. She was the one he wanted and she didn't want anybody to get hurt. She stepped out of the bush, tense but determined.

"Where's Mabel?" She asked, trying to keep calm.

Bipper spun around, the same ear to ear grin appeared on his face as he met her gaze. Stan stood behind him, ready to catch him if he made a run for it with her.

Bipper held out his had making a 'hand it over' gesture. Pacifica shook her head wildly.

"Come on llama, its only one, I need them all to destroy your damn world" Bipper growled.

"And if you get them all you will so I'm not giving it to you" Pacifica stood her ground, glaring at the demon.

"Suit yourself, kid" Bipper shrugged innocently, smirking.

Pacifica closed her eyes and braced herself for something to hit her but instead she was met with a strange burning sensation growing up her thighs. She opened her eyes to see blue flames crawling up her legs.

Stan had rushed forward but Bipper held him back with some sort of forcefield. He watched the fire envelope her, yelling at Bill to stop but he wasn't listening. Next came another dark magic. Something hit her hard on the back of the head, making her fall to the ground. She was covered in the blue fire now, screaming at the searing pain. 

She felt for the journal in her jacket pocket, hoping it would be burned but as she thought, it was fine. She was going to die. Die before she could apologise the to twins for all the jerky things she'd done to them. Especially to Mabel. She hated how easily Mabel forgave her because she knew she didn't deserve it. Pacifica Northwest didn't deserve caring friends like Mabel Pines.

She was about to close her eyes and accept her fate when she heard a third pair of footsteps running towards her at full speed. A loud 'oof' was heard as something large and metal hit Bipper square in the stomach. The fire vanished and Pacifica was now lying in a pile of charred leaves, burnt pretty badly but at least she knew she was going to live. 

Mabel Pines stood over her, frantically searching her jacket pockets for something. Pacifica could hear Stan mumbling on his phone and Mabel pulling the journal out of her pocket, opening it up and chanting something before she blacked out. 

∆ ∆ ∆ 

"Is she gonna be ok?"

"Yeah I'm sure she will be, stop worrying"

"Sorry I can't help it" 

"Don't worry sis"

"This is all my fault" 

"No its not, its mine" a sad sigh.

"Will you two shut up! You know who's fault it is? Bills. Oh man, what am I going to tell her parents- hey, she's waking up!"

Pacifica Northwest opened her eyes to three figures watching over her. She squinted at the sudden light but smiled anyways, even though it hurt her scorched face.


	2. Chapter 2

Mabel Pines had sat next to Pacifica's bed for two days straight and, now sleep deprived, was ready to leave when Stan and Dipper burst into the room. After a quiet discussion of who's fault it was, Pacifica had woken up, her green eyes clouded by pain but she managed to give them a small smile. Stan was on the phone again, trying to explain to her parents what was going on.

"Look, she's fine" the old man held out the phone arms length as audible yelling came from the small device "stop yelling".

Pacifica held out her hand, signalling to give her the phone. Stan handed it over and she leant back on the hospital bed, holding it to her ear.

"I'll explain what happened when I get back" she frowned "yeah I'm fine! Love you too, bye" she quickly set down the phone.

She handed it back to Stan before letting out a shaky breath. She sat up and pulled her legs over the side of the bed. She slipped off the bed, her bare feet landing on the cold hospital floor. Her arms and legs were wrapped tightly in bandages, as was most of her torso. Mabel stepped forward, holding out her hand and pulling Pacifica closer so she could lean on the brunettes shoulders.

"Thanks" she mumbled as they walked down the corridor. 

Pacifica was told to go back to the mansion, and as much as she wanted to go home with the twins, she had to go calm her parents down. Her parents didn't even like her that much, she was just used as a strategy to make them richer. 

She knew they were faking the crying and worrying because when she stepped through the large wooden doors to the Northwest Mansion, her parents were standing in front of her, unimpressed looks on both of their faces.

"What did you do this time" her mother frowned, grabbing Pacifica's arm and observing the bandages.

Pacifica winced at her touch "sorry I was just.." She paused. She knew that if she mentioned the triangular demon that had attacked, her parents would freak. "I got caught in a fire. Yeah, I was walking though the woods and came across an abandoned shack full of science equipment. I was exploring when some jerks set it on fire with me in it".

Her father sighed and shoved her towards the stairwell "go to you room to change. You look awful".

Hurt, Pacifica trudged upstairs, rubbing her bandaged arm. She changed into a purple hoodie and leggings then changed her bandages.

She carefully unwrapped the bandages off her left arm, grimacing as she saw her red, broken flesh. She looked away as she pulled the last of the fabric off her arm and threw it in the bin. Then she pulled out new bandages (that had been given to her by the hospital because her parents refused to buy any) from her shoulder bag and put them on, trying to ignore the stinging.

The Pines family had offered to buy her new bandages and painkillers which she gratefully accepted. It was all Mabel's idea and the others just went along with it. Pacifica smiled, her cheeks growing warm at the thought of the brunette. 

"Pacifica!!"

"Coming"

She adjusted the bandages the ran downstairs, just as her parents were about to leave.

"We found out you were with those Pines twins" her mother said, angry.

"You're grounded for a month" her father finished.

"What!? I almost got burnt alive and you're worried about me hanging out with the Pines family?" Pacifica yelled, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

Without another word, they left, leaving the blonde with a handful of butlers to look after her. She stormed back upstairs, to her room.

Making sure she was alone, she pulled a small handmade photo album from under her pillow. 

She hadn't known the twins for very long. And though the summer was almost over, she felt like it had been the best ones she'd ever had, even if she had bullied Mabel at the start. Mabel had easily forgiven her and now they hung out and went on monster hunts together. 

The photo album was made of light blue cardboard and covered in glitter. There were stickers all over the inside covers and stupid doodles Pacifica guessed were Dipper's. In her mind, Mabel was the artist and Dipper was the Monster hunter but he honestly wasn't half bad at drawing. On the cover, the words 'best summer ever!!' Was written in Mabel's cursive. Then, in the corner, was a gel pen drawing of a llama.

She opened it up and flicked through the photos, most of them were the twins being chased by a monsters, grinning and Pacifica behind them, screaming. 

If her parents were to find this she'd be grounded for life. She slid it back under her pillow and got out her phone, going onto Kik and finding Mabel. Her name was, of course, 'Shooting Star' and her icon was her caticature she had drawn earlier in the summer so it wasn't exactly hard to find.

Pacifica: Hey Mabel, my parents found out that you guys were with me and grounded me so I can't pick up the bandages.

Shooting star: that sucks :( maybe we could sneak in, like spies!

Pacifica: That's not a good idea, maybe just send your servant handyman or something, he doesn't have anything against my family does he?

Shooting star: you mean Soos? No he doesn't. And can you not call him a servant, just say handyman or friend :/

Pacifica: sorry, sorry! Can you send him instead, I don't want you to get in trouble.

Shooting star: I'll talk to grunkle stan about it and see. Ttyl? Dipper asked me to help him find a unicorn!!! 

Pacifica: okay, have fun :)

Pacifica waited but Mabel didn't answer. After a while, she set her phone back down and watched TV, nibbling on her secret stash of candy hidden cleverly inside her desk. Dipper had helped with that and she was very grateful.

"I wish I could see a unicorn" she sighed "that'd be so cool" she smiled to herself at the thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Dipper pines opened up the journal, flipping through it as fast as he could as Mabel approached the unicorn. According to the strange old book, only the purest of heart could approach the creature without getting impaled by its large horn. So, of course, Dipper had asked Mabel to try and befriend it. Dipper had asked his sister to come for just this reason, to try and get a lock of its hair for Stan, who had explained he had found a way to billproof the shack. 

"Be careful" Dipper hissed at his sister, still turning the paper thin pages of the journal but more slowly.

Mabel turned to him and smiled "I'm gonna be fine bro-bro, I'm the most pure of heart person I know!"

Dipper rolled his eyes then went back to searching the journal. Mabel turned back around, now facing the unicorn. The unicorn tilted its head then, to both the twins surprise, began to speak.

"Hello children" it nodded at Mabel but its eyes were locked on Dipper.

Dipper didn't reply but Mabel was ecstatic at the discovery that the unicorn, the creature her whole childhood revolved around, could talk.

"Hey there" Mabel grinned ear to ear, showing off her braces.

The unicorn turned towards the twelve year old, stepping forward. 

"I know why you're here, Mabel" its horn started to glow a pinkish-orange colour as it went on "you think you're pure of heart".

Mabel nodded enthusiastically "yup, that's me!" She jabbed a proud thumb into her puffed out chest.

The unicorn raised an eyebrow "you?" 

Mabel frowned, her hands dropping to her sides. Dipper looked up from the journal, confused.

"Yeah" Mabel replied quietly "me".

The unicorn snorted rudely. "Are you kidding me?" It walked slowly around Mabel.

Mabel stared at her feet "but I saved someone's life the other day" she was just as confused as Dipper was about this.

"After letting your brother get possessed" the unicorns gaze turned to Dipper once again, a smirk on its face. If unicorns could actually smirk, because they probably can't. 

"That wasn't her fault" Dipper interjected, watching as tears began to form in his sisters eyes.

The creature snorted and lowered its head, aiming it's razor sharp horn at Mabel's heart.

It began trotting slowly towards her. Mabel wasn't paying attention to the oncoming danger, she was staring at her feet, hugging herself, tears dripping down her cheeks.

"Mabel" Dipper cried, making her head shoot up just as the unicorn started galloping towards her.

She ran to the left, inches from its horn. The unicorn sharply turned then headed straight for her once again. 

Dipper grabbed her arm and sprinted towards the shack, the unicorn following in hot pursuit. 

"I don't understand" Mabel mumbled to herself, sniffing and wiping the stray tears with her free arm.

Dipper squeezed her hand "don't worry Mabes, you're the most pure of heart person here, that unicorn's just a jerk" he turned back to see the unicorn gaining on them.

He knew for a fact that two twelve year olds couldn't outrun a fully grown unicorn three times their size so he did the next best thing, guiding Mabel to the golf cart outside the shack and hoping the keys were in it. Both of the twins sighed happily as they saw the keys on the front seat. Wendy must've been there, forgetting to put them back in the kitchen. Dipper took the drivers seat, Mabel sitting next to him. Dipper quickly started up the engine, hitting the gas pedal and speeding towards the woods, heading towards town.

Mabel yelped and grabbed the steering wheel after realising where they were heading.

"We can't go into town, everyone will freak out and the unicorn will probably end up killing them" Mabel turned the wheel sharply to the left instead, almost tipping over the cart in the process.

"Mabel let go- ahh!" Dipper got flung to the side. He prised his sisters hands off the wheel and started to drive zigzag in between the trees. 

He could hear the unicorn behind them, breathing heavily. Maybe they could tire it out and then it'll leave them alone. No, there had to be another way. Dippers mind went to the journal, carefully placed into the inside pocket of his jacket. He was about reach for it but Mabel elbowed him and pointed to the woods, telling him to keep driving.

"Where are we going?" he asked, wondering if Mabel had an intention of actually heading somewhere when she turned the cart.

"I think we're going to the Northwest mansion" she squinted, trying to see where they were going.

Without saying anything else, she got out her phone and started rapidly typing. Dipper leant over to see she was talking to Pacifica, warning her of the danger.

"We can't go in, she's grounded" Mabel frowned and looked up at the sky, barely visible by all the large trees "but its getting dark so her parents are probably asleep".

"does she know we're coming?" 

Mabel nodded "I told her to sneak down and open the gates for us".

"She's going to get in so much trouble if she's caught" Dipper hissed.

"We'll hide until the unicorn goes away" Mabel replied happily.

"And what about Stan?" 

"What? Oh! We can just say we went monster hunting and didn't realise how late it was getting" she tapped her chin, thinking "or, if we have to stay all night, we can just say we slept over at Candy and Grenda's house".

"Yeah, no, that wouldn't work for me" Dipper frowned.

"Hmm, you went round Wendy's?" 

Dipper blushed "no no" he turned away so his sister wouldn't make fun of him for blushing and focused on the unicorn, still following them. 

"I ship you two" Mabel laughed "I was thinking of naming you two 'wendip', how does that sound?" 

"That's awful, please stop talking" Dipper replied dryly.

"That's an amazing name, I bet Wendy will appreciate it more" Mabel nudged him.

"Mabel no, you're not asking if that's a good ship name to Wendy" Dipper felt his cheeks grow hot "if you do I'm making a ship name for you and pacifica".

That comment stopped Mabel from talking. She blushed lightly, frowning. It was as if she was confused as to why she was blushing and it made Dipper smirk. 

"Uh.. We're here" Mabel pointed at the open gates of the mansion, her cheeks still red. 

Pacifica was waiting for them, lever in her hand, ready to shut the gate as soon as they drove in. 

The unicorn stopped at the closed gates, angry. It tried to get in, its horn not doing any damage to neither gate nor wall. 

Pacifica met them as they stepped out of the cart.

"You better not have run over any flowers" she said, looking around.

Dipper rolled his eyes and Mabel turned to face the wall, still red and confused.


	4. Chapter 4

Pacifica Northwest frowned as she inspected the expensive, foreign plants that grew in the gardens of the mansion. She was glad that the cart hadn't run over her mother's favourite flowers but had instead run over a couple of roses that her parents were planning to use for decoration for the oncoming party they were holding. She was about to quietly yell at the twins before a large crash shook them. They all spun around. Even Mabel whose face was still a light pink. 

The gate was bent. It swung back and forth limply in the wind, almost off its hinges. Which meant the unicorn was in the garden. Pacifica grit her teeth and looked up at the window of her parents room. Luckily no light was on. They were either sleeping or watching a film but either way, they were safe from them for now.

Dipper nudged the blonde and pointed towards a large apple tree. The unicorn was standing next to it, sniffing at some stray flowers. The beast itself was just as Pacifica had imagined as a child. With a magnificent silver coat that shone in the moonlight, rainbow coloured hair and bright eyes. She stood in awe until Dipper punched her arm.

She winced and rubbed it. He had hit her scarred arm with surprising strength. The stinging had come back.

Dipper seemed to realise what he had just done "oh, sorry Pacifica" he rubbed the back of his head, looking even more awkward and sweaty as usual.

His eyes brightened and he clicked his fingers. He went back to the shack and brought back a large box, filled to the brim with a ton of silk bandages. The unicorn hadn't noticed, too focused on the plants it was now chewing.

"This'll last you a while. If you need more, Soos said he'll deliver them for you" he gave her a small smile. 

Pacifica smiled back, taking the box and setting it by the door of the mansion so she could pick it up without any trouble after they'd dealt with the unicorn. She tried to ignore the throbbing pain in her arm as she walked back to stand beside the twins. Dipper had his journal with him and his weird light that showed invisible ink splattered onto the old pages. He was reading a paragraph about unicorns.

Mabel was being unusually quiet. She was staring at the unicorn with curious brown eyes. But she also looked sad and kind of embarrassed?? 

"Yup, only the purest of heart can go near it" Dipper didn't look up from the book but he knew Pacifica had automatically turned to Mabel. "It went after Mabel when she tried to get near it" Dipper added. 

Mabel lowered her head and frowned. Her shoulders were hunched and she was biting her lip. This couldn't be true. Pacifica couldn't stand to see the hyperactive, glittery twin she once knew like this so she stepped forward.

"I'll try" she shrugged, wanting to touch the unicorn and marvel at its beauty close up.

Dipper snorted but tried to turn it into a cough when he saw the look the blonde was giving him. 

"Yeah sure go ahead. But if it charges, run for the cart. And if it doesn't, can you grab a bit of its mane? We need it to demonproof the shack" Dipper said, closing the old book and walking towards the cart. 

Pacifica also saw Mabel backing away towards the cart, sitting next to her brother, watching with wide eyes. The blonde glanced up at her parents window once again. Still no light, good.

Pacifica slowly walked towards the creature, her heart beating so fast it felt as if it would explode out of her chest. She bit her lip and kept going forward, eyes trained on the unicorn.

The unicorn Finally looked up at her with big purple eyes. It tilted its head and stepped forward, its horn glowing, the only light in the dark garden other than the faint headlights of the cart. 

The unicorn looked confused for a second, as if it was trying to decide her fate. Then, as it did with Mabel, lowered its head. Pacifica didn't run, she tried to stay calm even as she heard Dipper turn the engine back on. 

"I'm guessing I'm not pure of heart" she chuckled at herself for thinking she was. "I know, I'm a jerk".

The unicorn nodded, its great mane flowing with every movement. It didn't say anything though and for a couple of seconds, she though it had forgotten about the whole 'pure of heart thing'. 

But no, it once again lowered its head and whinnied. Pacifica stepped back. Then she remembered, the twins needed its hair. She ran forward, grabbing a pair of scissors that had randomly appeared in her pocket, and cut off a handful of its rainbow hair. Then she sharply turned on her heel and sprinted towards the cart.

She got there before the unicorn, with enough time to give the unicorn hair to Mabel, who had cheered up a bit. 

"Go back to the mansion, we don't want to get you in trouble" Dipper hissed. 

Pacifica nodded and ran into the shadows to get the unicorn off her back. Dipper flashed the lights in its eyes and it started running towards them. The cart went speeding off. Mabel turned around and gave the blonde a small smile. She smiled back, he cheeks growing warm. 

She turned back the mansion, hoping her parents didn't hear the cart and the unicorn making loud, angry sounds. She grabbed the box of bandages then stepped inside and went to her room, changing into her purple silk pyjamas and sliding under her duvet, falling asleep almost instantly. 

Mabel Pines grinned as she turned back to face her brother. Pacifica had blushed which probably meant something. She was still confused about her feelings towards Pacifica, but it felt good knowing that she might actually feel the same way. Her hair was blown back as the cart sped up to the fastest it could go. They were heading to the shack, she knew the way off by heart as they came onto a small dirt path. Mabel hoped they could lose the unicorn before they got back but it was unlikely. 

"What do you think Stan will say if he saw this?" Mabel asked her brother.

"He'd probably yell at us nearly getting ourselves killed then left hook that unicorn" Dipper smirked at the thought.

"That'd be so cool" she mirrored his smirk.


	5. Chapter 5

Mabel Pines got flung forward as the cart stopped suddenly. Dipper slammed on the brakes, trying not to hit the cart into the shack. Both twins got flung out the front. There were no seatbelts in the small vehicle and if they survived they both silently agreed to pester Stan into installing some. 

They hit the ground hard just as the cart tipped over and smashed into a nearby tree. The noise was enough to wake anyone up and Mabel hoped it would wake up their grunkle before they got killed. 

Mabel got up slowly, ignoring the growing pain in her leg as she put pressure onto it. Dipper was also hurt, holding his head and mumbling though gritted teeth. He stood up and motioned towards the shack.

"We need to get inside, maybe the unicorn will just go" he grabbed his twins sleeve and pulled her inside the gift shop, quietly closing the door then peering out the window just as the unicorn came into view. 

Dipper ducked down as its head shot in his direction. Mabel was sitting by a large pile of boxes inspecting her leg. Nothing too serious just a pretty large cut down the side, but that'll heal quickly with some plasters on it.

Mabel was just about to stand up to go and find the first aid kit when the door to the living room opened and there stood Stan in a tank top and boxers. His hair was a mess and his glasses were missing. He'd just woken up.

"What are you doing its almost midnight" he hissed at them, confused as to why they were crouched down and covered in little scratches. "Did you find the unicorn?" 

They both nodded. Dipper pointed to the window then signalled for the old man to crouch down. He sat beside Mabel, picking her up and placing her on his lap. She wrapped her arms around him, eyes trained on the window, fear in her eyes. 

"We almost died" Dipper whispered, eyes as wide and fearful as his sisters "and we crashed the cart, please don't be mad" he added quickly. 

Stan sighed and rubbed his temples "I'll deal with that tomorrow, I'm just glad your safe" he held the tired, trembling girl in his arms as he spoke to her twin. 

Dipper stuffed his hand into his pocket, revealing a wad of unicorn hair. Stan grinned and reached over to take it from him, careful of Mabel. He inspected it, impressed. 

"How'd you manage that?" He asked.

"Pacifica did it actually" he rubbed the back of his head.

"What!? You got Pacifica into this as well" Stan tried not to yell but raised his voice slightly "is she okay?"

Dipper nodded and pulled out journal 3. He flipped through the pages frantically. 

"How do you make a unicorn go away" he muttered. 

"Is it still there? I can't hear anything" Stan replied. 

Dipper stood up and carefully peered though the window. After a minute, he stood up straight, grinning "its gone" he raised his arms in triumph. 

Stan gently placed Mabel back on the floor then stood up, cracking his back. "I'll go and get the first aid kit" he grunted and walked off.

Mabel yawned loudly and curled up in her sweater. Her leg was bleeding pretty badly, her white socks were turning pink at the top. Dippers head throbbed and both his hands were caked in dirt and blood from using them to cushion his fall. 

Stan arrived five minutes later holding a small box. He sat the twins down in the living room carpet and opened it. Stan opened a small box of plasters which varied in sizes and stuck a bright pink one on her cut and various other coloured ones on her bruised legs and arms. Dipper picked up a roll of bandages and a bottle of painkillers. He took two and wrapped the bandages around his arms and hands then applied the colourful plasters to his legs. 

"Time for bed" Stan clapped his hands together, making the twins jump at the sudden noise. 

Mabel stood up and quickly made her way to the attic, eager to sleep. Dipper followed more slowly, Stan behind him.

After both of them had settled down in their beds, Stan stood at the door. His eyes were on Dipper, he looked proud.

"You did good today, kid" he smiled a genuine smile at the boy then turned off the light, leaving Dipper in pitch black darkness.

He settled down under the covers and listened to Mabel breathing. It calmed him. Except for when her braces whistled, he couldn't wait until she got them taken out. He smiled and closed his eyes. 

∆ ∆ ∆

Bill Cipher stepped into the attic, the room turning grey as he walked towards Dippers bed. Dipper shot up, his eyes wide. 

"Pine tree" Bill didn't have a mouth but Dipper could tell by the tone of his voice that he was smirking.

"Bill" Dipper narrowed his eyes.

"Look kid, I know you hate me but hear me out" Bill held out his hands in defeat "there are these guys trying to get me, see? A-and I was wondering if you could help me".

"No way" Dipper laughed as if this was all a joke. 

"Please Pine tree" 

"Bill even if I wanted to I can't, I'm leaving gravity falls in like, a week" Dipper watched as Bill sighed, suddenly looking sad. 

"I understand. Are you gonna come back?" He asked, hopeful.

Dipper was confused and a little flattered that the demon cared for him "probably, but it might not be next summer, depends on what our parents want" he shrugged. 

Bill nodded, understanding "I-I'll go now" 

∆ ∆ ∆ 

Dipper woke up confused, his head hurting even more than it had done yesterday. He looked over to Mabel's bed and, surprise surprise, she was already up. He could smell something sweet downstairs that made his mouth water. He got up, changed then ran downstairs, hoping that Stan and Mabel hadn't eaten everything.


	6. Chapter 6

Pacifica Northwest woke up to yelling that echoed through the empty hallways of the mansion and into her room, making her head throb. Her parents were probably yelling at each other again, their topic of argument was usually herself so Pacifica normally stayed out of it. She sat up, ignoring the growing pains in her limbs. She knew that they had scarred permanently and as soon as her parents had found out, they'd flipped. Pacifica didn't really care about her appearance as much as she used to, not since she started hanging out with the twins. They made her forget she was a Northwest and what she was expected to be. They made her feel like a normal kid. 

She smiled at the thought but was brought back to reality by a slamming door and then heavy footsteps sounding on the marble floor. Pacifica glanced at her calendar, summer was ending and soon, the twins would have to leave. They left a day before their 13th birthday. 

Pacifica had already made them a little card for their birthday, thanking them for everything they'd done and hoping that they would come back in the future, which they said was very likely.

She allowed herself to daydream until her door opened unexpectedly, making her jump and turn around. Her father was at the door, his face red with anger. He tried to contain it but even as he spoke, she could hear his impatience "get dressed and come down for breakfast as soon as you can sweetie" he said through gritted teeth. 

Then he closed the door and stormed off, swearing loud enough for the twelve year old to hear. Pacifica dressed in a purple shirt, a jacket, black leggings and boots, tied up her hair and ran downstairs. She grabbed a slice of toast and was about to walk out the door when a butler grabbed her shoulder. 

"You know you're grounded right?" He smirked and pulled her back into the kitchen. 

Pacifica groaned and took another mouthful of toast "so being grounded also means I'm not allowed outside" she climbed onto a stall and grabbed a box of cereal, still hungry. 

The butler sat opposite her, fingers intertwined, a curious look in his eyes "I heard noises outside in the gardens last night" he tilted his head "what was that about?"

Pacifica gulped and turned away from the butlers gaze, guilty "I don't know what you're talking about".

The butler, knowing about the bandages wrapped around the fragile girl, grabbed her arm with a surprisingly tight grip and asked again, more slyly than before "I heard noises outside" with every word, his grip tightened "what was that about".

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me" Pacifica winced.

His grip lessened and his eyebrows raised "try me".

She took in a deep breath then answered "a unicorn came into the gardens so Dipper and Mabel came to get it out before it ate all the flowers" she said quickly. 

That wasn't all the truth but the butler seemed to think so. He let go, confused and let the girl rub her arm before saying "OK then".

He then stood up and walked off, probably to tell her parents and ground her for even longer. She sighed and finished her cereal slowly, listening to the radio playing quietly in the background. 

Once she'd done, she threw the bowl in the sink and ran back to her room to grab her phone and message Mabel. According to her calendar she was leaving in a week and she had to deliver the card by then, which was risky. 

She opened up their Kik chat:

Pacifica: Hey Mabel, you up yet?

Shooting Star: of course, I'm always up before dipdop :D 

Pacifica: so I'm grounded and you're leaving in a week so we need to sort something out.

Shooting Star: okay but I don't want to get you in trouble :O

Pacifica: I made you a birthday card. 

Pacifica: One for you and Dipper, to say thanks 

Shooting Star: that's so sweet! Thanks Paz

Pacifica: Paz?

Shooting Star: yeah I thought of a new nickname for you since pacifica is a pain to type. Like it?

Pacifica: yeah :) 

Shooting Star: awesome! And maybe you could ask your parents to come say goodbye to us at the bus stop??

Pacifica: I don't know, they're in a pretty bad mood as it is, maybe you could send soos to pick it up on the way?

Shooting Star: yeah I can do that :D 

Pacifica: do you think you'll be coming back?

Shooting Star: of course! It might not be next year but we'll convince our parents to send us here again.

Pacifica: OK, thanks. Ttyl?

Shooting Star: ttyl! <3 

Mabel Pines face planted the table, barely missing her plate of pancakes. She had just sent a heart to Pacifica. Her cheeks grew red and she was thankful Stan was outside opening the shack. She sat up, rubbing her sore forehead then continued to eat her pancakes, her face growing more and more red as she recalled the moment. She couldn't delete the message, that was rude and Pacifica had already read it. 

Maybe Pacifica would just think of the heart in a 'best friends' way not a 'I think I have a crush on you' one. 

Dipper walked down the stairs and stared at his sister. A grin grew on his face and grew more and more as her face got redder and her cheeks grew hot. She turned away, holding her face in her hands. 

"Where's Stan?" Dipper asked slyly.

"Outside" Mabel mumbled, her voice muffled by her hand, which was over her mouth. 

Dipper sat beside her and pulled her into a hug "confused?"

She nodded, slowly chewing on her pancakes and wrapping her arms around her twin. She pushed the plate over to his side of the table and stood up.

"Not hungry" she said plainly and padded upstairs to change.


	7. Chapter 7

Dipper Pines stared at the plate of half eaten pancakes, debating whether they were safe to eat. Five minutes later, Mabel came down wearing her usual oversized shooting star sweater. 

"I think I'm gonna skip breakfast" Dipper threw the remains into the bin and walked into the living room, sitting down in the armchair and getting out his journal.

Mabel came running in after him, sitting down next to her twin since they were small enough to sit on the large chair together.

"Wanna go monster hunting?" Dipper asked, eyes glued to the book as usual.

Mabel frowned "I was gonna hang put with Candy and Grenda today. Since we don't have long left" she said slowly, watching Dipper carefully. 

Dipper sighed and shut the book, stuffing it into his pocket "oh okay".

"You can come if you want bro-bro but-" Mabel started but Dipper smiled at her.

"Its fine, its fine! I'll hang out with Wendy and the gang" Dipper slid off the armchair, waving Mabel off before walking into the gift shop.

"Hey Dipper" Wendy smiled warmly at him. "What's up?"

The redhead was sitting by the counter, her feet propped up, mud caked books staining the sides. She was reading a magazine, one that Dipper had never seen before. He recognised the band at the front though. 

"Hey Wendy" Dipper leant on the counter, trying not to be awkward. "Mabel's going to go see her weird friends soooo... Could I hang with you?" He could feel his cheeks warm up as he spoke, turning away before Wendy noticed. 

He thought he was over Wendy, just a faze, but every time he talked to her, he felt weird. 

"Oh sure dude" Wendy set the magazine down and checked the time on her phone "my shift doesn't end for a while" she frowned.

"I can help" Dipper suggested, already walking towards the boxes of merchandise Stan kept in the corner of the gift shop. 

"Thanks" Wendy looked up as a costumer walked in, putting on a fake smile and greeting them politely. 

Dipper turned back and got to work, setting the bobble heads and snow globes onto the shelves. 

Time sent by pretty quickly and soon enough, Wendy's phone beeped, signalling that her shift was over. Thompson's car was already outside waiting for her when the two stepped out of the shack. 

"Hey guys" Wendy greeted "mind if Dipper tags along?" 

Lee, and Nate nodded, grinning and high-fiving the twelve year old. Tambry nodded slightly, not looking up from her phone and Robbie scowled and rolled his eyes. 

Dipper got into the back of the car. 

"So where are we going?" He asked. 

"We found this abandoned house in the middle of the woods and we thought it'd be cool if we checked it out" Wendy let out a little laugh "I'm glad you asked to come, remember what happened last time at the haunted convenience store?"

"I brought the journal" Dipper grinned, tapping his pocket "just in case".

Five minutes later, the car stopped and everyone got out. The house was very old, at least 100 years and untouched. It was run-down, the windows shattered and the outside covered in graffiti. The gang stepped in, splitting up to go into different rooms. Dipper stayed with Wendy as they walked into the kitchen. Wendy opened the fridge, frowning at its contents.

"Nothing in here but old mouldy food" she knelt down and squinted to get a better look "cheese, sandwiches, some sort of meat?" 

Dipper walked over to her, observing the small red thing on a plate. 

"Steak? Mince?" Dipper started naming every meat he knew but Wendy shook her head and went to inspect the cupboards.

Dipper stared at the fridge. Something small moved inside it. Dipper bit his tongue, not wanted to make a fool of himself in front of the teenagers. Again. 

'Just a rat, just a rat.'

He shut the door and turned towards Wendy who was standing on her toes, looking into a small cupboard. 

"Oh sweet, doritos" she pulled out the packet. Then frowned, her eyes growing wide "this looks new" she whispered "someone's here".

Dipper opened his mouth to talk but nothing came out. He was scared. Both of them ran around the house, hissing at the others to be quiet and get out. 

They were upstairs when they heard the door creak open and heavy footsteps sounded. The door slammed shut and the footsteps quietened as the person, or what they thought was a person, went to the kitchen. A sharp, surprised yelp, made Dipper shiver as he realised Wendy had taken the doritos, hiding them under her hat.

"We need to get out of here" Robbie hissed, looking around for an escape. 

The windows were no use, sharp glass surrounded them. Jumping out from the second floor is one thing but jumping out of a window covered in broken glass is another. Their only hope was if the person left. 

Thompson whimpered and everyone turned to glare at him. He held up his hands in defence, sweat running down his forehead, blue eyes wide. 

Dipper curled up, making himself as small as he could and got out the journal. He knew it couldn't help them but it calmed him. Maybe there was a zombies downstairs? The gnomes scavenging for food? A fairy? Bill?

Dipper was surprised the name even came into his head. It couldn't be Bill, he was a triangle, incapable of making footsteps as he floated and his voice had this echoey tone to it. 

He could feel Wendy tense beside him and focused on the person downstairs. He heard more footsteps, this time, coming towards the stairwell. Dipper froze and turned to the others. They had the same look on their faces. Dipper paled as he heard them come up the stairs. There were only two options:

Run for it, maybe they could daze the person, maybe push them down the stairs and make a run for it before they get up.

Or jump through the broken window and risk getting sliced open. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad? 

The footsteps stopped outside the door the teenagers, and Dipper were hiding in. There was a faint click of a gun being loaded. Dippers felt as if his heart was going to burst out of his chest as the door slowly opened.


	8. Chapter 8

Dipper Pines pulled Wendy under a large desk in the middle of the room. The room itself looked like some sort of study, bookshelves surrounded the desk but only a couple of old books had survived. The others had taken shelter in other small places except for Thomson who was quietly running around the room, looking panicked. Dipper closed his eyes as footsteps sounded inside the room. There was a grunt as the person, who Dipper supposed was masculine, looked around, eyes narrowed. 

Thomson had thrown himself into a pile of large boxes just as the man had stepped in, Dipper could see them moving as he squirmed. The brunette watched the man's shoes as he walked further in, stopping by the desk. His shoes were very posh looking and clean. They looked brand new in fact. Dipper squinted, those shoes looked very familiar. Before the twelve year old could react, he heard paper being scattered on the desk and then a chair being pushed up to it. The man slung the gun over his shoulder and sat down, feet barely inches away from Dipper and Wendy. 

The man sighed and ruffled through the papers, setting some down and sliding others into a folder. A heavy book dropped onto the desk and Dipper held back a frightened yelp. Wendy was shaking beside him, curled up, head low. She had the doritos in her hat, any sudden moment would make the packet crinkle and they'd all be shot.  

"Bill Cipher..." Dippers eyes widened as the stranger said the demons name. 

More papers could be heard as he flicked through them, then opened to supposed book. The pages sounded thick and old, much like the journal he had. 

Suddenly, the man stood up, the paper scattering everywhere. One piece landed on floor beside Dippers feet. Dipper leant forward and took the paper. He bit back a scream as he saw it was a photocopied page of journal number three. It was the page about Bill, Dipper recognised the messy scribbles about the demon and the 'do not summon' in large blood red letters.

"Where did it go" the man grunted and bent down to search the floor. 

Dipper held his breath and slid the paper towards his massive hands. The man found it and stood back up, smoothing it out them chanting something under his breath. A bright light appeared and all too familiar laughter echoed in Dippers ears. 

'Bill'

"Cipher" the man greeted, his tone was cold and business like.

"Preston Northwest" Bill replied.

Dipper wanted to scream. Pacifica's father? How did he get the copies of the journal? Well, he was the richest man in Gravity Falls.

"Do you have them?" Preston asked.

"Of course I do" Bill laughed and another bright blue light temporarily blinded Dipper. 

Something fell into Preston's hands.

Dipper held the journal close to his chest, he was hyperventilating. Wendy put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. 

"Now my half of the deal" Bill chuckled smugly. 

"Yes, what did you want?" 

Bill laughed and floated over to the desk, sitting on the side and crossing his legs. He tapped the wood as if he was thinking then spoke up.

"I need a puppet, Northwest"

Dipper felt like he was going to cry. Bill had used that trick on him but possessing an adult was way more dangerous. Dipper buried his face in his arms and brought his knees up to his chest, quivering. 

"Sure, I can buy you one next time I'm in town" Preston nodded and held out his hand. 

Bill took it, blue fire enveloping them as they shook. There was a loud crash, as if someone had fallen over and then heavy footsteps. The desk got flung to the other side of the room and Dipper finally let out a scream. Preston stood in front of him, his eyes yellow, grinning.

"Hey Pine tree" he looked over to Wendy "Ice bag".

"Wait what-" before Wendy could complain she was flung out the window. 

Them bill tossed Lee and Nate out of the room and down the stairs. Dipper flinched as he heard a loud crack as they hit the bottom step. 

Next went Tambry and Thomson. Robbie stood up, his eyes narrowed at the demon.

"Robbie don't" Dipper mumbled.

"Don't tell me what to do, you're just a stupid kid" the black haired boy ran up and left-hooked bill then ran off to see if his friends were okay. 

"Give me the journals kid" 

"What?" Dipped tuned and jabbed a finger to the copy of the third journal on the desk "you can just copy them"

"I need to original ones for my plan to work" Bill grabbed the gun and pointed it at Dipper.

Dipper froze. Bill pointed the gun at his head, grinning ear to ear. 

"Bill" Dipper said slowly, a little relieved when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. 

The door swung open and Bill turned around, accidentally shooting a bookshelf, narrowly missing Mabel who was stood by the door, out of breath and armed with her grappling hook. 

This wasn't the first time he had been saved by Mabel, and certainly not the last. Bill steadied himself, backing into a corner to point the gun at both twins. Now that he knew the power of the weapon in his hands, he was grinning wider. 

"Give me the journal or I shoot your sister" Bill pulled Mabel closer with his powers. 

Dipper broke down. Tears were streaming from his eyes as Bill held the gun to her head. 

Dipper took out journal 3 slowly and stepped forward. 

"Dipper don't do it" Mabel yelled at him, squirming under Bills grip. 

"I have to" Dipper stared at his feet and held out the book. 

"No you don't" Dipper looked up just as Mabel elbowed bill in the ribs.

The taller man bent forward, groaning. Mabel shot the grappling hook at him, making him drop the gun so it hung limp at his shoulders. She took the gun.

"Don't move or I shoot" she yelled. 

Dipper hadn't seen her like this. He kinda liked it but she did look scary. 

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" Dipper asked quietly. 

Mabel shrugged, smirking. 

Bill stood up straight, raising his eyebrows when he saw the twelve year old holding a gun almost as big as her. He grinned and vanished, appearing behind the twins. He set the gun alight. 

Mabel yelled and threw it to the floor, patting down her slightly burnt sweater. The fire didn't stop. Bill grabbed the copy of the journal and the kids and went outside. All signs of wendy and the gang were gone. 

Bill held them tightly and forced their heads towards the burning building. He laughed. 

Dipper and Mabel exchanged worried looks as they watched the roof collapse on itself. 

"Goodbye evidence" Bill said, smiling.


	9. Chapter 9

Dipper Pines turned to Bill, confused. "Evidence?"

Bill didn't reply, his eyes were glued to the fire, his eyebrows knitted together. Dipper turned back to the house, a little shaken but thankful that he was alive and safe. His sister had come unexpectedly, maybe she had heard screaming? Was she in the forest with her friends and came across the shack? 

Mabel held her grappling hook in one hand, the other in her sweater pocket, yes, she made little pockets to store candy in her sweaters, frowning. 

Bill took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his, well Preston's, hair, a grin painted onto his features. His eyes were bright. "Well, nice seeing ya pine tree" Bill walked forward, trying one last time to make a grab for the journal, but Mabel kicked him in she shins. His smile faded into a wince as he turned to Dipper's twin "shooting star" he nodded and limped dramatically off, leaving to twins to watch him go, confused.

"Why didn't he attack us?" Mabel asked.

Dipper wasn't sure if she was talking to herself or if the question was directed at him but he answered anyways "maybe because of what was in that shack. He said 'evidence' and I think the copies of the journals were still in there" he stepped forward, careful of the burning debris. His eyes scanned the fallen shack, in hopes of clues. 

"Don't sweat it bro-bro" Mabel placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it "whatever was in there is gone, and we can always come back here next summer to check it out" she suggested. 

Dipper sighed but nodded "okay, but I think next summer would be too late, we should check in a couple of days" the twelve year-old followed his sister through the woods, watching her hair bounce as she skipped happily back to their shack. Their temporary home for the summer. 

Dipper shoved his hands into his pockets and looked up at the sky. It was getting dark. He jogged into the shack and into the kitchen, spotting Wendy slouching on a chair, Soos applying bandages to her cuts. She turned to the twins when she heard them walk it, relief flooding her features. 

"Oh my god, I though you were gonna get killed" she grinned weakly, obviously tired from the days events "did you get Bill?" 

Dipper frowned and shook his head "no, he's still in Preston's body" he felt somewhat guilty for not getting Bill. He had let the demon go without a chase. 

"Hold still, dude" Soos took Dipper by the shoulders and led him to the other chair, sat him down and placed multiple brightly coloured plasters onto his arms.

He then checked Mabel for any injuries but found none. 

Wendy stood up, wincing as she put weight on her bad leg, which was put in a makeshift cast. She waved goodbye and limped out to the golf cart, driving back to her house and promising to return the vehicle the next day.

The twins were sent upstairs quietly, changing into their pyjamas and settling down. Mabel fell asleep almost instantly, her face buried in a stuffed tiger that she held close to her chest. 

Dipper lay on his bed, covers half off, staring at the ceiling. Preston Northwest, Pacifica's father, seemed to be working with Bill Cipher, which could mean Pacifica could be part of this too. Maybe she was just acting nice to gain their trust and take the journal. Dipper blinked, unsure. Mabel seems to trust her, so she must be good, right? He turned to his side, watching Mabel as she squirmed under her blankets, smiling into her stuffed toy. Watching her made Dipper smile, he couldn't even begin to say how much he cared for his twin. Smiling slightly, Dipper shut his eyes. 

∆ ∆ ∆ 

Mabel Pines followed her brother back to the shack three days later. She was wearing a striped sweater, one of her personal favourite's as there was a large pocket at the front where she kept her grappling hook just in case. There were only about two days until they left for Piedmont and she was beginning to dread it. 

Dipper stopped dead in his tracks and Mabel did the same. They now stood in front of the ruins of the old shack. The wood was burnt and so was pretty much everything else. There was that desk, still standing. And the bookshelves, although most had collapsed. He carefully stepped over some charred wood and took out a book. The pages were ruined but he could make out small drawings of triangles with what looked like top hats? Bill. Dipper flipped some pages, they were all covered with tiny Bills. 

Mabel had decided to look at the desk, opening the drawers inside to reveal a little pile of pens. She took one out and tried it on a piece of stray paper. It worked. She pocketed it and closed the drawer, crouching down to look below the desk. 

After what seemed like hours of searching for clues, neither twin had found what they were looking for. Dipper had found some books that had miraculously survived and Mabel had several old pens and a small notebook with cool looking doodles in them.

They stepped out of the ruins and turned to each other, brown eyes shining. 

"Agree to come back here whenever we come back?" Dipper asked, clearly excited by all this. 

Mabel nodded, grinning, showing off her braces. "Agreed".


	10. Chapter 10

Pacifica Northwest sat in the darkness, hugging her knees, tears dribbling down her cheeks. She dabbed at her puffy eyes, knowing that her parents were a couple rooms down from her own and if they came in, she had to look presentable. 

She could feel the bandages around her torso rub against her bare skin under her thin shirt, making her feel very self conscious though no one else was in the room. She sighed and stood up straight, stretching before grabbing her purple blankets and wrapping herself inside. Pacifica debated whether or not she could get away with sneaking downstairs to make some hot chocolate. 

Her parents were fairly light sleepers, any sudden noise could wake them. She was grateful they were very tired the day the unicorn came. 

She smiled at the memory and her mind then went to Mabel Pines. The only person she could officially call a friend, who was also leaving in a day. She wondered if and when the twins would come back. How they would've changed, would they still remember her if they came back? Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by tapping of what sounded like tiny objects rather than fingers on her window. 

Confused but curious, she went over to the window and opened it, closing her eyes and wrapping the blanket more tightly around her as the cold air hit her. 

"Paz" someone hissed from outside, an all too familiar voice. 

Pacifica looked down but saw nothing but black. She squinted "Mabel?"

"Stand back, I'm coming up!!" 

Doing as she was told, the blonde stepped back. She yelped as she saw the end of a hook lodge itself into her windowsill. Her parents are going to kill her. 

Next where the grunts of effort as Mabel made her way up the mansion walls, occasionally slipping and giving the blonde mini heart attacks. Eventually she saw a hand reach over, and then another. 

"Mabel you're crazy" Pacifica said, smiling as the brunette pushed herself up and rolled into her room. 

She lay there for a couple of seconds, breathing heavily. There were little cuts in her hands where the metal wire of her grappling hook had dug into her skin and Pacifica decided after she'd checked Mabel for any more cuts, she'd grab the first aid kit from the bathroom. 

Mabel sat up, raising her hands to her face and grinning, her braces shining in the artificial lighting in Pacifica's room. 

"Rope burn, cool! Wait is this rope burn or... Wire burn??" She watching as blood started to bubble at the surfaces of the cuts. 

"I'm gonna go get the first aid kit" she was about to walk out of the room but stopped. She pointed to Mabel "stay" she said as if the brunette were a dog. 

Mabel nodded, using her hands to get up from her carpet and leaving little crimson stains. Pacifica sighed and left the room, grabbing the bright red box and bringing it back. She hadn't even been gone a minute when she came back in to see Mabel checking out her expensive makeup. 

"Don't touch that" Pacifica dropped the box on her bed, and steered Mabel away from her makeup table. 

She sat the brunette down and carefully applied plasters, which were all a dull grey colour, to the cuts. Mabel's hands were tiny so it was hard to adjust the plasters and some awkwardly overlapped. 

"Thanks Paz!" Mabel said cheerily, holding up her hands to admire Pacifica's handy work. 

Paz.

The nickname had stuck with her and it made her smile every time Mabel said it. She blushed lightly as Mabel turned to her, her big brown eyes making the blonde melt. 

"OK, so are you gonna tell me why you're here?" She asked, excited. 

"What? Oh yeah!" Mabel grinned again. She flicked her bangs out of her eyes and started "so as you know we're leaving in a day" 

Pacifica nodded, part of her knew this had something to do with the fact that the twins were leaving. 

"and we don't know when we'll be back" Mabel's smile faded slightly, confusing the blonde "I'll miss you, Paz".

Pacifica felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach. Tears started to form in her eyes but she blinked them away. "I'll miss you too" she said, her voice cracking. 

"But I promise I'll come back, no matter how long its been" Mabel gave the blonde a soft look, her voice going quiet "and maybe I'll appear like I did tonight, through your window!" 

"And to think I actually thought you were gonna say something sane" Pacifica rolled her eyes, grinning. 

"So if you hear little stones being thrown at your window, its me" 

"Those were stones!? Oh my god Mabel"

Mabel shrugged, a mischievous grin on her face, her eyes shining. 

"Anyways" she wrapped her hands in her sweater, hunching up her shoulders "I just wanted to say bye" she looks away, avoided eye contact as red spread across her cheeks "so... Bye".

She was about to awkwardly climb out of her window when Pacifica stopped her, reaching under her pillow to produce a card, covered with any arts and crafts related thing she could find around the mansion. 

She handed it to the brunette "don't open it until your birthday" it seemed pointless but Mabel nodded, holding the card to her chest. 

Her eyes were tearing up, her face growing a deep red. 

"Bye Mabel" Pacifica gave her a half hearted wave as the disappeared out of her window. 

There was a yelp and a quiet oof as Mabel lost her grip and fell. Pacifica chuckled, knowing she was fine. 

So many emotions were going through the blondes head, she lay down, resting her cold hand on her forehead. Its was OK, Mabel promised she'd come back. And it was very unlike Mabel Pines to break a promise. 

She'd just have to sit and wait, even if it took years, knowing the brunette would come back for her. 

One more day until her life goes back to normal, no more summer, school, no friends. Well, she had friends but they were more like... acquaintances?? She couldn't call them friends since they did not care for her wellbeing as Dipper and Mabel had done.

When she told them about her parents, they had freaked out, telling her was perfect the way she was. That had made Pacifica glow. 

Now all she felt was crippling loneliness.


	11. Chapter 11

Pacifica Northwest watched the sun rise from her window. She hadn't got much sleep last night. Well, she hadn't slept properly since Mabel climbed through her window. 

Today was the day the twins had to leave and the fact that she couldn't see them off left a knot in her stomach. The blonde sighed and leant on her windowsill, looking out at the trees. They had a faint orange glow on them, its was a beautiful sight. 

Too bad Pacifica was stuck in the mansion. 

She had thought of climbing out of her window but she didn't have to right equipment for that. She could fall and break something or even worse, in her opinion, her parents would catch her and punish her even more than they already were. She shivered at the thought. 

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, making her jump. She quickly got it out, and opened Kik. Mabel had been trying to message her for the past hour. 

Shooting star: Paz, where are you!?!

Shooting star: please message back, we're going soon 

Shooting star: Dipper says thanks for the card btw :)

Paz: oh sorry, I was sleeping

Shooting star: its 12pm paz!!

Paz: yeah, i slept in

Shooting star: anyways, I'm gonna miss you!

Paz: I'll miss you too

Paz: I can't believe I said that...

Shooting: omg I just realised you changed your name!!! You like my nickname? :D

Paz: yeah

Shooting star: well, I gotta go and finish packing, text you later! Remember to stay in touch with me <3

Paz: OK 

Pacifica set her phone on her windowsill and exhaled, her cheeks growing red. Another heart, oh my god, does she even know what she's doing??? She blinked a couple of times, rubbed her cheeks then stood up, shoving her hands into her thin purple jacket. She placed her phone in her jeans pocket and walked downstairs. 

The first thing she realised was how empty and quiet it felt. She called over a Butler. 

"Where are my parents?" 

"They're on a business trip, they told me to tell you" he jabbed a thumb at his chest then pointed to the blonde "that they won't be back until tomorrow because of a party", he then narrowed his eyes "I've been told to lock all doors and windows so you can't get out".

The butler shoved past the twelve year old and went into the other room.

Pacifica scoffed. Why would she want to leave anyways, the twins were leaving in a couple of hours and there was no point hanging out with them. Dipper's journal was probably at the bottom of his suitcase. 

She walked into the kitchen and poured herself some cereal. Picking up then spoon lazily, she ignored the faint vibration coming from her pocket. It was probably from one of her 'friends'.

She rest her head in one hand, staring at the table until she felt herself rising. Looking down, her theory was correct, she was floating. Her cereal was going all over the place but she managed to get another couple spoonfuls into her mouth before air-swimming into the next room and to the window. 

"What?" Her eyes widened as she saw not only was the mansion slightly floating, but so was the entire town. 

∆ ∆ ∆ 

Dipper pines yelped as he rose off his feet. He looked over towards his sister who was twirling in the air, frowning. Soos was also in the room, holding Stans fake ID cards in one hand and his slice of emergency salami in the other. 

"Soos" Dipper said as calmly as he could. 

The older man looked at him, pain in his eyes "I promised Stan but... OK" he elbowed the vending machine hard and it opened like a door. 

Both twins eyes widened. Soos just shrugged like it was nothing, nibbling at his salami. 

Gravity turned on and the trio hit the ground. Groaning, Dipper stood up and made his way down the stairs. Mabel and Soos followed, muttering things Dipper didn't hear. His head was pounding and his heart was beating so fast he thought it would explode. Stan really was not what he seemed. What if he wasn't related to them at all? 

Dipper blinked away tears before the others saw. 

After a while of looking around the underground lab, they stumbled across a room with a large triangular machine in the middle. 

"What's this?" Dipper mumbled to himself, poking at some old dusty buttons. 

Suddenly an alarm sounded and the room turned bright red. Blinded, Dipper tried to find Mabel but instead backed into the wall. Falling down with a grunt he looked up to see none other than grunkle Stan. He grit his teeth and charged at the man, yelling. 

"Woah calm down dip" he backed away, eyes fixed on the machine.

"Why did you lie to us? Are you even our grunkle" Dipper screamed, tears dribbling down his cheeks, throwing weak punches at Stan's arms. "How dare you".

Stan took in a deep breath "look I'm sorry" he stepped forward, pushing the boy out of his way 

"no wait!!"

Gravity turned off, making them rise once again. Dipper was now sobbing, his tears floating up from his eyes and he tried to grab Stans arms and pull him away from the machine. He had realised Mabel had latched onto a button, her hand poised to press it. 

Stan was trying to stop her, yelling at her to let go. 

"Mabel press it" Dipper said though chocked sobs. 

"No please, I need the portal to stay open" stan said weakly. 

"Portal??? What-" Dipper, Stan and Soos got thrown back against the wall by an invisible force. 

Mabel held on, hand now on the big red button. 

"Ten, nine, eight"

Dippers heart sped up again. A countdown? He turned to Stan, narrowing his eyes. 

"What is this?" He whispered.

"I'll tell you later, kid" he replied bluntly.

"Later!? We might die!"

"Mabel" stan said, ignoring Dipper's cries of protest. "Mabel please". 

"Five, four, three"

Mabel's eyes widened. Tears floated around her face and past her hair. 

"Grunkle Stan" she glared at Dipper for a second before closing her eyes "I trust you".

"Two one..."

"NOOO MABEL YOU'RE CRAZY-"

A bright blue flash enveloped the room. There were loud crashes all around Dipper but he was paralysed. He couldn't move, he couldn't open his eyes. He could breathe. 

It was a miracle when he fell to the ground, Mabel landing beside him. 

"Are we dead?" He stuttered. 

A figure walked out of the portal, picking up the journal and walked up to Stan.

"Who's that?"

Stan opened then closed his mouth. He stood up, a stupid grin on his face as he went to greet the figure. 

"The author of the journals, my brother"


	12. Chapter 12

Dipper Pines stared in disbelief as Stan finished his life story. Mabel was next to him,shaking slightly. Were those tears in her eyes??? Oh my god. 

When the old man had finished, he turned to his twin, eyes slits "I spent thirty years trying to help you" he stood up, suddenly angry "and you repay me by punching me" he jabbed a finger at the red mark on his cheek.

Ford scowled "I wouldn't have been trapped if you hadn't ruined my life" his voiced raised as he finished the sentence. 

Mabel stood up and walked in between the two men.

"Boys boys, why can't you learn to hate each other in secret" she shrugged innocently "like girls do" she put her hands into her sweater pockets. "plus you're twins" she turned to Dipper smiling slightly. 

Dipper came up to them, mirroring her smile "and twins should never fight" he finished. 

They looked up at the old men with round brown eyes. A smile crept up onto Stans lips. 

Ford clapped his hands together, making everyone in the room jump.

"Aren't you kids mean to be packing?" He asked, pushing them out of the room and into the lift.

"but you're the author..." Dipper said, excitement rising up in his chest "I have so many questions".

Ford chuckled at the child "maybe next summer eh?" He waved as the lift door closed. 

The twins, soos and Stan arrived on the ground floor in silence. Stan looked as if he were about to cry.

"Stan-"

"No, just finish packing, we don't have long, kiddo" he signed and walked into the living room, sitting down in his armchair and running a hand through his hair. He placed his fez down on a stand and shut his eyes. 

The twins walked upstairs and slowly finished packing the last of their clothes. Mabel folded her last sweater, placing it neatly in the corner of her suitcase before turning to Dipper. 

"Need any help?" 

Dipper shook his head. His suitcase was a mess, nothing fit like it had when he had arrived at the start of the summer. He shoved another shirt into it, burying it under a pile of books, trying to save room for another layer of old clothes. 

"You sure bro-bro?" 

Dipper nodded. He needed time to think. Preferably alone. Luckily his sister seemed to take the hint and tried to drag her suitcase downstairs. Which looked difficult since it was almost as big as the brunette. She barely managed, falling down the last couple of steps and grazing her knee. 

Stan sat up and went to check she was OK. Then helped get her suitcase outside and waiting for the younger twin. 

Dipper rest his face in his hands. The author was Stans brother? He was family? What? Why didn't his parents tell him this! He'd have to question them when he got back.

Having the author back was definitely a good thing but also kind of a bad thing? According to the journals, he'd met Bill before and Dipper had seen small triangular objects down in his lab. The twelve year old had found his role model of the summer but still didn't fully trust the guy. His past with Bill was important but questions would have to wait until next summer. Or the summer after that. 

He stood up, stretching before zipping up his blue suitcase and slipping on his backpack. Amazed that they both closed without any effort he walked to the staircase, standing at the top and looking down. He didn't want to end up falling like his sister did. 

Learning from his twins mistakes, he called for Stan who came in immediately. 

"Can you help?"

Stan was still a little shaken up but nodded, lifting the object over his head with ease then jogging down the stairs, Dipper following.  
They arrived at the bus stop to soos and Wendy already waiting. The bus could be seen in the distance, its pace slow and steady but everyone knew they didn't have much time. 

They all exchanged hugs and sad looks. 

"You'll come back right?" Wendy asked, her voice cracking.

"Of course, I don't know when..." Dipper trailed off, fighting back tears.

Mabel was in the middle of giving Soos one of her trademark bear hugs when the bus arrived.

The driver opened the doors "Gravity Falls" he drawled. 

Some tourists stepped off, some walking off to the information centre and others to shops or stopping to talk to the locals.

Mabel gave Soos a sad braces-filled smile and stepped onto the bus, her brother following. They hopped onto the back seats as the driver put their suitcases into a special luggage compartment on the side of the bus, before taking his place behind the wheel and shutting the doors. 

Candy and Grenda had come to wave them off as the bus made its way down the dirt road, further and further away from their friends and family. It broke Mabel's heart that Pacifica couldn't make it. She turned over in her seat and got out the blondes card, staring at it. 

"Don't worry Mabes, you'll be able to see her again" he rest a hand on her arm and got out a book to read on the long journey back home.

He turned the first page, turning his attention from his sister to the stained page. 

Mabel put the card away, staring out the window for the rest of the journey. She watched as the trees thinned out and became buildings which grew in height as they came to their destination. Piedmont California.

Their parents welcomed them with open arms and "how was your summer?" at the bus station.

Both the twins had decided not to tell them about the paranormal stuff that had happened so they wouldn't freak out and refuse to let them go again. 

Instead, Mabel groaned "Stan made us work at the shack for like, the whole summer". 

Her parents chuckled, probably assuming she was exaggerating.

They piled into the car and drove home, their parents firing questions at them about Stan and their summer and the twins answering, trying to avoid any mention of the journals, dinosaurs, zombies or gnomes. 

They hoped that they could go back next summer. They didn't realise they'd have to wait four years.


	13. Chapter 13

Pacifica Northwest tapped her fingers on her desk. She grabbed her pen and scribbled down some notes then glanced at the clock. Twenty more minutes until school was over for the year. Pacifica was glad, sure, but the summers were very lonely since the Pines twins had left four years ago but it was a break from school so Pacifica couldn't complain. 

The blonde cradled her head in her hand. School had driven her back to her old ways. She was a bully and the most popular and feared girl in the entire school. Whenever she pushed someone around it made her feel awful, but she had to keep her reputation. At least, until Mabel came back. 

Mabel had said she'd come back. She promised four years ago. Pacifica still had her Kik but the texts had gotten less and less frequent as Mabel was always busy with school and clubs. 

She remembered how the triangle had come back to drop hints of the future. He had done it for a week after they had left and then the summer after. Pacifica hadn't heard from him since and she was very grateful for that. 

Pacifica blinked and looked up at he clock. Ten minutes. She let out a long breath and looked at the board, copying down the questions and writing answers. It took her three minutes, history was her strong point. 

"Two more minutes then you can pack up" the teacher drawled from the front.

She saw kids frantically scribbling down the answers then shutting their books. Pacifica rolled her eyes and shut her book, sliding it to the other side of the desk and getting out her bag. She put away all her stationary and notebooks. 

"OK, have a nice summer!" 

Everyone piled out and Pacifica waited patiently and quietly at the back. She tapped her foot as the last kid left. 

"Finally" she muttered, walking down the corridor and out of the school gates.

The blonde sat down on a bench to wait for her limo to arrive. It was late. It was always late. 

Her phone buzzed and she slid it out of her pocket. It was a Kik message from Mabel. Her heart did a backflip. She took in a deep breath and read the text. 

Shooting star: Heeey Paz! Sorry for not answering, I joined art club and I had a massive group project to finish :( 

Shooting star: anyways, we're coming back to gravity falls this year! Dip and I just left, he recently got his license so we're not taking the bus :D

Paz: this is the best news I've gotten for four years! 

Paz: see you tomorrow then??? I can drop by the mystery shack

Shooting star: yeah sure! I may even see you sooner ;) 

Paz: that's creepy

Shooting star: ok, I have to go, Dipper wants me to give him the directions

Shooting star: my map reading skills are horrible, how is he trusting me with this!! 

Paz: oh god

Paz: don't get lost! 

Shooting star: we won't... Maybe

Shooting star: talk to you later!! 

Pacifica set her phone down, a small, genuine smile on her pale face. Mabel hadn't changed, she was still a dork.

A loud honk startled her and she spun around to see her limo. She waved at pedestrians that had stopped and stared at the car as she got in, slamming the door shut and rolled up the blackened window. 

"You're late" 

"I'm sorry"

Pacifica frowned and rolled her eyes. 

"I don't care if you're sorry" she grit her teeth "you're always late"

"I know, I know"

"I'm telling my parents" 

The butlers eyes widened. 

Pacifica knew what telling her parents would do. They would fire him and get a new one. Pacifica smirked. 

The rest of the drive home was quiet. She stepped out of the limo and swung her bag over her shoulder. Pacifica strode up to the mansion, her hand on her phone. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she went through the conversation over and over in her head.

Mabel Pines was coming back to gravity falls. And her dorky brother, but that wasn't important. He never liked her that much anyways.

The blonde got some food from the kitchen, a packet of crisps and three sandwiches, and went up to her room to feast and wait for the Pine's return. 

Every time her phone buzzed, her heart leapt but when she saw it was just one of her fake friends, she never bothered to reply. 

When her phone buzzed an eighth time she didn't even pick it up. she groaned and rolled over on her bed and listened as it kept buzzing. She closed her eyes. 

The buzzing stopped and she sat back up and looked out her window. It was growing darker. 

she checked the time on her phone. 9:00pm. Then opened Kik.

Shooting star: we're here!!!

Shooting star: open your window 

Pacifica opened her window. She was met with big brown eyes shining in the moonlight. Something metal hit her windowsill. 

"Oh my god, Mabel".


	14. Chapter 14

Pacifica Northwest rolled her eyes and leant on her windowsill, leaning down to watch Mabel climb up.  Well, she could only see the top of the brunettes head but she noted that her thick hair seemed to be shorter than it was when she was twelve. 

"Paz!" Pacifica blinked, looking down into Mabel's eyes. She was clinging onto the metal rope, looking panicked. 

"What is it now?" The blonde smirked. 

She nodded towards the grappling hook lodged in her windowsill. It was slipping, under the sixteen year olds weight. Pacifica grabbed the hook, holding it as tight as her hands would let her. They were still scarred slightly from the accident and would regularly throb with pain. As soon as she thought that, her hand started throbbing, first unnoticeable then sharp jolts. She grit her teeth and hoped Mabel would reach her room sooner. 

Mabel rolled into her room, wearing a oversized hoodie and galaxy leggings. She sat up, rubbing her hands together, which were bright red. 

"Need the first aid kit?" Pacifica raised an eyebrow.

Mabel shook her head and wiped little trails of blood on her hoodie before slowly getting up. She looked around Pacifica's room, marvelling the new bedsheets and wallpaper. 

"This looks so cool!" She grinned, showing off her teeth, now braces free. 

"Oh my god you look so weird without braces" Pacifica almost laughed, her cheeks growing red. 

Mabel's grin widened "yeah, got them taken off like, a year ago" she put her hands on her hips "I can finally eat toffee without any pain!" She chuckled before adding"and picking bits out of my braces".

Pacifica smiled. It'd been four years but Mabel was the same personality-wise. Honestly, she was exactly the same, just slightly taller with shorter hair. 

"I missed you" 

"I missed you too, paz" 

They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, not knowing what to say. Mabel looked away, awkwardly rubbing her arm. 

"Uh" Pacifica started, trying to make conversation "so it took you four years to come back here... Why"

Mabel shrugged "my parents insisted we travel the summer after we left. So we tried it and it was pretty awesome!" She gave Pacifica a lopsided grin that made her heart skip a beat "we've been practically everywhere so instead of traveling this year, our parents sent us here again". 

"I'm so glad you guys are back" Pacifica hadn't realised she was almost crying with happiness until now. 

Mabel stepped closer and pulled her into a hug. The brunette was short. Shorter than herself and most likely shorter than her brother. Speaking of her brother.. 

"How's Dipper?" 

"Well, he got his drivers licence a month ago and he's doing really well at school" Mabel's voice was muffled by Pacifica's thick shirt "he missed gravity falls a lot and is excited to go monster hunting tomorrow". 

Mabel pulled away from Pacifica, shoving her hands into her hoodie pocket and looking up at the blonde with wide eyes "wanna come with us??"

"I'm not sure-" Pacifica was cut off by Mabel tugging at her sleeve. 

"Oh come on, I know nothing interesting had happened to you since we left" Mabel pulled her to the window and swept her hand along the woods. "Bet you haven't even been in there since we left" she said, smug. 

Pacifica sighed. She was right. Her parents hadn't let her venture alone since they found out about the Pines twins knowing about Bill cipher. They worshiped him like a god and it sickened Pacifica. She still had scars all over her body from the demon. 

Mabel's phone went off in her pocket, cutting Pacifica out of her daydream. Her ringtone was a cute little 8-bit tune that sounded slightly familiar. Mabel stared at her phone, frowning. 

"Its Dipper, he says I should get back to the shack and help him with something" Mabel rolled her eyes "dork". 

"Oh OK" Pacifica tried not to sound sad as the girl of her dreams waved goodbye and jumped out her window. 

∆ ∆ ∆

Mabel pines walked out of the Northwest mansion gates, her heart beating fast. She burst into the shack, making Dipper jump. He was sitting on Stans favourite, and only, armchair with his laptop, most likely researching monster stuff. 

"How'd it go?" He looked up at his sister with curiosity. 

She let out a loud sigh and have him two thumbs up, blushing lightly. 

"Good" he shut his laptop and slipped it back into its case. "We should sleep, big monster hunting day tomorrow".

The twins exchanged their good nights and went their separate ways. Mable stopped halfway up the stairs to the attic, running down them to Dipper's room. She knocked on the door then barged in. 

"Oh hey, forgot to say Pacifica might be joining us OK bye dip!" Mabel said, fast. 

She ran upstairs and jumped into her bed, pulling the covers over her head and closing her eyes.

Since the twins were now sixteen, Stan had figured it'd be awkward to share a room so Mabel called dibs on the attic and Dipper took the spare room (the one where they found the body swapping carpet). 

Mabel had already started unpacking, replacing her old boy band posters with little sketches and art references such as hands and anatomy. 

The brunette fell asleep pretty quickly, dreaming about Pacifica Northwest, the girl of her dreams...


	15. Chapter 15

Dipper Pines woke up to the noise of excited chatter coming from the kitchen. He took in a deep breath, smiling as he smelt fresh pancakes. Standing up from his bed, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and checked the time on his phone: 11:08am. 

Dipper stretched before changing into an orange shirt, blue jacket and jeans. He tidied up his hair a bit then walked to the kitchen, mouth watering. He stepped in to see Stan and Ford both relaxing at the table while Mabel was making piles of pancakes. 

"Morning, kid" Stan nodded at him, not looking up from the story he was reading. 

"Hey" the younger twin greeted and sat next to Ford to wait for the food. 

Dipper's stomach made a loud noise and Mabel chuckled, stacking another pancake on a large plate then sliding it to her brother. He tucked in straight away. Mabel's pancakes were the best. 

After everyone had eaten, Ford gave them access to his journals before heading down to the basement to do 'research'. 

Ford only gave them one instruction; not to bring the journals just in case Bill was still around. Both twins had nodded, understanding. 

They set out into the woods in the golf cart, Dipper driving.

The younger twin turned to his sister "so we need to pick up Pacifica?" He raised an eyebrow. 

Mabel nodded, grinning. Dipper rolled his eyes and turned a sharp left, heading towards the Northwest mansion. 

The older twin pulled out her phone and began rapidly texting Pacifica, telling her they were ready and waiting outside the mansion gates. A couple of minutes passed and Pacifica stepped out of the mansion wearing a large jacket and boots. She swept her bangs from her eyes and looked up at Dipper with wide green eyes. He smirked at her reaction. Dipper hadn't really changed. He was taller and very lanky and had faint traces of stubble on his chin.

Pacifica slipped onto the back of the cart and leant forward. "Soooo where we going?" She asked. 

Dipper checked his notes with one hand, the other on the steering wheel. 

Mabel snatched the notes from his hands before he could say anything. She read through them. 

"We're going back to that weird shack to see if anything changed then we're looking for a small gang of gremgoblins that have been terrorising some of the townsfolk" she scrunched up the paper and put it in her pocket. 

"Oh, that weird shack that got burnt down you were telling me about?" Pacifica asked. 

Both twins nodded and Dipper turned again. Trees whizzed past them as he sped up. Pacifica yelped and held onto the bars. 

"Is this safe?" She said through gritted teeth. 

Dipper laughed and sped up, making a left then slamming his foot down on the brakes. Pacifica lunged forward, rolling over the seat and onto Mabel's lap. Dipper cheered and watched as both girls' faces turned bright red. He stepped out and left them to mutter apologies. 

He walked around the ruins of the shack, rubbing his chin. Mabel was beside him in an instant. She had pulled her hood over her face, trying to hide her burning cheeks. 

"Okay" Dipper spun on his heel to face the two girls, awkwardly standing next to each other "walk round and pick up anything that looks new or suspicious".

They nodded and parted separate ways whilst Dipper walked through the middle. He scanned the floor with narrowed eyes. 

He saw Mabel trudging towards the back of the shack and Pacifica towards the left. 

About an hour later, Mabel, who had finally put her hood down, called over the other two. She had a piece of paper in her hands and by the looks of it, it was fresh. Dipper took it.

"Its gibberish" he frowned.

"Maybe its in a different language" Mabel shrugged. 

Dipper put the paper into his pocket, nodding "yeah, maybe Great Uncle Ford can translate it for us".

"Can I drive this time?" Mabel asked, skipping towards the cart. 

Dipper hesitantly nodded and sat in the passenger seat, Pacifica once again, behind them. 

"Just be careful" he decided to keep a close eye on her feet, just in case she decided to speed up. Mabel hadn't got her licence and he was pretty sure she never would. 

She started off slowly, Dipper guiding her. He'd taken a map of the forest and where all the magical beings were from Ford, who had been keeping an eye on the gremgoblins for a long time. He would've done something about them but his excuse was that he was 'too old for this kind of thing'. 

"Okay, take a right then keep heading forward until you find a cave" Dipper had studied the map hours before they had set off and knew all the places gremgoblins liked to hide from the journal. He even brought a bunch of old swords lying around the shack, just in case anything happened. 

"Stop" Mabel slammed down on the brakes, causing the cart to slide in the mud a bit before stopping. 

Everyone stepped out, feeling sick and light headed. 

"I'm driving back" Dipper said. 

Pacifica agreed quietly and Mabel pouted before agreeing as well. They all ventured into the cave, Dipper bringing a torch and a sword. He saw something flash in the cave and stepped in front of the girls. The thing started moving rapidly towards them and Dipper let out a shriek before stumbling backwards and turning to run. 

"My hero" Pacifica rolled her eyes and smiled. 

Dipper frowned at her. 

Mabel chuckled, looking back at the cave just as a figure walked out. 

He was a tall blonde man wearing a yellow suit. One eye was covered by an eye patch with a yellow triangle on it, the other an electric blue. 

"Shooting star, is that you?" he scanned the trio, a mischievous grin forming on his face "you've grown".

Mabel didn't say anything, her eyes were wide, mouth an 'o'.

The man turned to Dipper "pine tree, long time no see!" He grinned, showing off inhuman fangs. "You look surprised" he tilted his head before realising and grinning wider "you like my new form? Trust me, I didn't possess anyone for this" he swept a hand down his body "a friend made it for me". 

Dipper was speechless. Without realising Bill could read his mind he thought:

Oh no he's hot


	16. Chapter 16

Dipper pines turned his gaze away from the demon, trying to keep control of the small blush on his cheeks. After teasing Mabel over and over again for blushing like an idiot over Pacifica, he didn't want her to do the same to him. Mabel wasn't even paying attention to Bill, just staring down and the debris and kicking stray prices of wood. 

Dipper sighed and ran a hand through his hair "what do you want" he kept his voice as calm as possible though his heart was pounding in his chest. 

Bill frowned and shrugged. He opened his mouth then closed it. He looked up at the trio with a wide blue eyes "I...I need your help". 

Pacifica elbowed her way in front of Dipper. She pushed the younger twin towards his sister, who caught him expertly as he tripped. She glared down at Bill, hands on hips. 

"Why should we help you?" She almost growled. 

"Well..." Bill shrugged again, peering over the blondes shoulder to look at the two pines twins "first of all, I need their help" he raised an eyebrow at Pacifica "so should probably just leave".

Pacifica scoffed "I'm just a part of this as they are".

Bill rolled his eyes "fine, fine" he walked past the blonde towards the twins and clapped his hands together. 

Mabel let go of Dipper's arm and stepped back to let the two talk. Pacifica stood next to the older twin, looking down at the scars that covered her arms.

"OK, what do you want?" Dipper's heart was pounding and he tried to hide his blush the best he could. Which wasn't really working but nobody said anything and he was very grateful for that. 

"Okay, its a long story but when you left... I kinda got myself into trouble" he looked awkward, almost embarrassed.

Dipper frowned "so what?" 

"I have to stay down here but I have no place to go..." He trailed off, finally meeting Dipper's gaze. 

"No, no way" it was Mabel's turn to barge into the conversation. She grabbed Pacifica's arm, and held it up. The blondes sleeve fell, showing long purple scars spiraling up her pale arm. "Look what he did to Paz! How do we know that's not gonna happen again?"

Bill winced at the memories "I promise that won't happen" he held his hands up defensively "this is too serious to be messing around with mortals like I used to" he almost smirked. 

"Why can't you find somewhere else" Dipper suggested with a small shrug. 

"Because.., what if they find me?" Bills voice lowered and he looked around with a wide eye. "Besides, I'm sure old sixer wouldn't mind me staying at the shack" Bill's scared looked turned into a grin. 

"It's your fault he got stuck in the portal in the first place, Bill" Dipper crossed his arms over chest 

"Wait what?" 

Dipper turned to Pacifica with a small smile "I'll catch you up on this later"

"...Okay"

Dipper turned back, giving the demon an unimpressed look "why can't you stay at a hotel or rent an apartment?"

"I have no money, pine tree" Bill spat back. 

Dipper froze. He hadn't thought of that. "We can give you money" he slipped his hand into his pocket and grabbed as much change as he could. He counted it then looked over to Mabel,"how much do you have?"

"What? No, no" Bill slapped the money out of Dipper's hands, sending the silver and bronze coins flying. 

The brunette raised an eyebrow and Bill rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. 

"I need to stay with you" he ran his gloved hands down his face "I need to talk to sixer"

"Fine, fine but only to talk to Ford" 

Bill pouted. 

Dipper blushed "maybe we could sort something out" he muttered. 

Bill hugged the younger win, picking him up and twirling him around. Dipper let out a manly screech before he got thrown to the ground.

Mabel chuckled and held out a hand to help her brother up. Pacifica pocketed something shiny she'd found in the debris and followed the twins back to the shack. Dipper made a mental note to ask her what that was next time they hung out. 

Mabel opened to door to the gift shop, startling the old man sitting by the counter, counting money. 

"Hey kids" he put a stack of notes back into the cash register and pocketed the rest. 

"We need to talk to Ford" Dipper said.

Stan rolled his eyes and opened up the secret entrance to the basement.

"Family meeting" he yelled down.

Ford yelled something back but it was inaudible. Dipper turned to see Mabel waving off Pacifica. 

Ford walked out of the basement wearing his usual turtleneck and trenchcoat, just like he did four years ago. He ran a hand through his hair, adjusted his glasses on his nose then followed the others into the living room. They all sat at the table, Bill choosing to stand. 

Ford looked up at the blonde man with curiosity. "Who's this, Dipper?" He didn't bother to acknowledge Mabel, who just frowned in the corner.

Dipper took a deep breath "there's no use hiding this if he needs to talk to you so.." His eyes met Bill's for a second "this is Bill cipher". 

As soon as Dipper said that name, Ford instantly reacted. He pulled out a futuristic looking gun out of his trenchcoat and pointed it at Bill. He pressed some buttons and the weapon started glowing blue. Bill looked surprisingly calm. 

"Who did he possess now?" 

"I made this body myself, sixer" Bill smirked, and then it fell "look, I need your help".

"How can I trust you after what you did thirty years ago?" 

"I'm a human now, I'm stuck like this. Hurt me and I die" his eyes scanned over the Pines family "also I need a place to stay" he added quickly. 

"No, you're not staying here" Ford put the gun down and grabbed Bill by the shoulders "we can talk but no demon is staying in this shack". 

"I'll get the unicorn hair we saved" Stan rushed into the kitchen and Ford pulled Bill into his lab. 

Dipper and Mabel sat awkwardly at the table in silence. A moment later Stan walked out holding a clump of rainbow coloured hair. 

"Wanna go raid the kitchen for candy?" Mabel asked his brother. 

He nodded and they both jumped off their chairs and ran into the kitchen, laughing.


	17. Chapter 17

Mabel Pines sat on the kitchen counter stuffing as much candy as she could into her mouth without choking. Dipper had left a couple of minutes ago to go text Pacifica. Mabel would've been lying if she said she hadn't felt a wave of panic as he said her name. Thinking about the two dating made her both happy and sad at the same time. Four years ago, she would've said they'd make a really cute couple but now she just hoped Pacifica liked girls. 

Shaking her head, she picked up a handful of candy, mostly old Haribos they'd found hiding behind a couple of mugs, and brought them to her mouth. She chewed them absentmindedly, zoning out for what felt like minutes but probably only lasted seconds. She let out a long, tired sigh and slipped off the counter, shoving the remaining candy in her hoodie pocket to snack on later. 

Just as she stepped onto the first step, ready to go up to the attic to draw, Ford burst through the gift shop door and grabbed Mabel's shoulders, spinning her around. She let out a little yelp and stumbled a bit before gaining her balance and looking up at Ford with curious brown eyes.

"What the hell was that!?" 

Ford didn't reply. He blinked at his Great Niece, almost looking confused until he shook his head a little and smiled at her. Mabel couldn't remember the last time Ford had smiled at her like that. 

"Good news sho-Mabel!" Ford seemed to mentally hit himself for the slipup but remained as calm as he had been before "Bills staying here for a bit!"

"What? No!" Mabel opened her mouth to yell more words, maybe even curses, at Ford but nothing came out. Something didn't seem right about this. "Uh.. Didn't Stan already set up the unicorn hair and.. Whatever else was needed to block out Bill?" 

Ford grinned wider, shrugging innocently as he replied "I've already talked to Stan! He's OK with him staying. Heck! That guy even gave him a job working at the shack" the old man chuckled to himself. He seemed way too... Satisfied. 

"Um... Okay then.." Mabel forced a thin smile onto her lips and backed away up the stairs "I should be going. Y'know, I'm a busy person" she grinned awkwardly "I have a ton of art stuff to do".

Ford nodded and walked off, as if he hadn't noticed the teens strange behaviour. 

Mabel ran up the rest of the way to her room and shut the door, sliding down the wood and burying her face in her hands. That couldn't have gone more awkward. She was too busy feeling awkward and sweaty to notice the figure approaching her.

"You okay?" 

Mabel's head shot up. She glared daggers at her brother. She could've sworn she told him not to trespass without her permission. 

"What are you doing in here?" No matter how annoying he actually was, she could never be angry at Dipper. He was her twin after all. 

He held up a large box of books. The box was cardboard and looked as if it would fall apart at any moment. On the side, written in Dippers scruffy handwriting was 'DIPPERS graphic novels'. The Dipper was emphasised so Mabel wouldn't take the box. Mabel smiled, forgetting, for a moment, her encounter with Ford. 

"You took all my graphic novels. I know you think they're cool and they're the only thing you'll read other than your cheesy fanfiction, but you could've just asked instead of making me think I'd lost them" he took a deep breath from his rant then went on "or worse, stolen. These cost a lot of money you should've asked, I'd let you-"

Mabel pushed down on the box, making her brother drop it. The wooden floorboards shook as the heavy box hit it. 

"Calm down, bro" Mabel held her hands out. He wasn't even angry at her, she could tell but his rants were annoying and she wished he'd just stop. But if he did, he wouldn't be the Dipper she knew and loved so she kept her mouth shut. "I was just borrowing them for inspiration".

Dipper glanced at the walls of her room, now almost filled with dumb sketches, anatomy references and cool looking watercolour paintings. He did notice a couple of characters he recognised from his graphic novels though. 

"Anyway" Mabel cut him out of his thoughts by punching his arm "I think Bill's possessing Ford" the brunette waited impatiently for her brothers response. 

"And why do you that" the younger twin placed his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow. 

"He was acting really strange! He kept grinning at me" Mabel shuddered at the memory "also he said Bill could stay" 

"So? Maybe he's just cutting the guy some slack? He is in serious danger"

"Or maybe that's what he wants us to think." 

"He already possessed Ford once, I think he's learnt his lesson" Dipper picked up the box and started walking towards Mabel's door. "Sorry for 'trespassing' I'll leave you with your own crazy thoughts now" he walked out, humming 'disco girl' as he descended down the stairs. 

Mabel frowned and flopped onto her bed. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe she just imagining it. Was this a dream? Was she back in Piedmont. She stretched and stood up, walking over to her desk and getting out her sketchbook and coloured pencils and started doodling, nibbling on the candy in her pockets. 

∆ ∆ ∆

Dipper Pines set down the box and clicked his back. He groaned. He wasn't sure how his sister had gotten the box up the stairs by herself but he didn't want to think about that now. What she had said about Ford and Bill scared him. He shook his head, wanting to forget about it as soon as possible. Unfortunately for him, the thought hadn't been gone long when Bill Cipher himself burst into his room, wearing a toothy grin. 

"Hey roommate!" 

No....


	18. Chapter 18

Dipper pines quickly walked over to the blonde, placing his hands on his broad shoulders, ready to push him out. There was no way he was letting a dream demon, especially Bill Cipher, sleep in his room. Dipper gave Bill a push but the demon stayed put. 

Bill grinned at the brunette "hahah! You can't get rid of me that easily, pine tree" 

Dipper let go of his shoulders with a huff. He folded his arms across his chest and let out a loud sigh before stepping aside for Bill to walk through the door. Bill stepped in and looked around. It was a large room with dusty furniture that neither Dipper nor Stan could move scattered around haphazardly. Dipper now used them for bookshelves or to put framed photos of old friends and family up. 

Bill inspected the photos. He looked genuinely interested for someone who had tried to destroy the Pines four years ago. 

Dipper left the demon to look around, leaving the room to try and find a mattress. He slowly made his way up the stairs, ignoring the fact that Mabel was listening to music, way too loudly might he add, and singing along badly. Typical Mabel. He opened a door that led to an old storage room where Stan used to keep old, broken attractions in and looked around. He found what he was looking for fairly quickly, plus a couple of warm blankets and pillows. Dipper picked them all up and made his way carefully down the stairs. He was well aware of the fact that most of the yellow blankets had fallen out of his arms and were sliding down the stairs next to his feet but chose to ignore it, hoping he wouldn't trip. 

Luckily, he made it down the stairs in one piece. He opened his door with his foot and walked into his room, dropping the pile in the middle of the room. Bill turned around as he heard the quiet thump of the mattress hitting the wooden floor and stared at it with interest. 

"What's that?" He asked, stepping onto it. He jumped on it and chuckled. 

"Bill, stop" Dipper sighed and untangled the blankets, shooing the demon off to place them on. "Its a mattress, you sleep on this" he said, placing three layers of blankets onto it "it's your new bed". 

Bills smile fell "why can't I sleep in your bed?" 

"Because it's my bed" Dipper grunted and picked up the mattress, dragging it towards the furthest corner of his room, away from his bed. 

"But I'm your guest!" Bill placed a hand over his heart, pouting.

"So? I didn't want you to sleep in here in the first place, so I don't care" he replied flatly, putting his hands on his hips and staring down at the makeshift bed "there you go, it's all yours". 

Bill shook his head and made his way to Dipper's bed, sitting down and wrapping himself stubbornly in his duvet. Dipper ran a hand down his face, trying to contain his rising anger. 

"OK, let's make deal" Dipper said, knowing it was the only way he would listen.

Bills attention snapped to the younger twin, a grin on his face. His eye flashed yellow. "What kind of deal?"

"If you sleep on this" Dipper pointed to the mattress "for tonight and don't like it, then we can sort something out with my bed" 

Bill hesitated, looking down at the makeshift bed with disgust. After a while, he nodded slowly, blue fire enveloped his hand as he held it out for the brunette to shake. Dipper took it and gave it a firm shake. Bill stood and ran to the mattress. 

"What time is it?" Bill asked, stretching. 

"Come get your food, kids!" Stan yelled from the kitchen.

Dipper grabbed Bill's arm and pulled him to the kitchen. Stan had set three plates on the table with toasties on them. Dipper grinned and took his place at he table, picking up the toasted sandwich and taking a large bite out of it. He opened his mouth, eyes wide. 

"Hot hot!" He covered his mouth with one hand and tried to swallow before his tongue got too burnt. 

Mabel laughed, sliding into the seat next to him with a Pitt cola in one hand. Bill sat down the other side of Dipper, poking the toastie. His arm recoiled and he stared at it. 

"You eat these?" 

"Yeah, try it, it's so good!" Mabel chimed in, sipping her cola and staring at the demon in amusement. 

Bill took a bite, cheese trailing down his chin as he set the toastie down. He chewed for a bit before looking over to the Pine twins. 

"Now you swallow" Dipper said through a mouthful of food, swallowing it as an example. 

Bill copied his action, though it looked very forced and he grimaced as the food went down his throat. 

"I knew that" he mumbled. 

Dipper snorted but didn't reply. 

When they were done it was around 9:00pm, time to head to their rooms and chill for the rest of the evening. Though Dipper wasn't sure he could since he was sharing a room with his enemy. 

Bill yawned as he set himself down on his bed. When he'd finished he looked up at Dipper with wide eyes. "What is this feeling? Man, humans are weird" he blinked sleepily. 

Dipper laughed "it means you're tired. You should sleep early, you're starting work tomorrow, remember?" 

Bill nodded and lay down, shutting his eyes and letting out a sleepy sigh. Soon enough, he had fallen asleep. Dipper pulled out his phone and started looking through his social media, occasionally giving Bill sidewards glances. Every time he stared at the sleeping demon, it made him get butterflies in his stomach. He decided to ignore the weird feeling, thinking it was Stans terrible cooking. Dipper slid down into his covers and closed his eyes three hours later.


	19. Chapter 19

Bill Cipher woke up to Dipper snoring softly, still fast asleep. The dream demon checked the time. 7am. He stood up, letting the blankets fall to his feet and padded over to the sleeping twin. Bill wasn't sure how to wake the brunette up without him getting annoyed. He wanted Dipper to like him, especially now that they were sharing a room together. Bill hesitated before giving Dipper's shoulder a small shove. Dipper groaned but didn't move.  
"Pine tree" Bill bent down so he was face to face with Dipper. "Wake up". 

Bill gave him another shove, this time more impatient. Once again, Dipper did nothing. The demon walked out of the room, determined to wake his new roommate up. Something clicked in his head and he turned on his heel to run down the hallway towards Fords room. He pulled the man out of his body and took it without hesitation. He was used to it after all. He stood up slowly, getting used to the longer limbs and aching back.

"Dipper wake up, this an emergency!" Bill ran into Dippers room and pushed the door open.

Hearing what he thought was his great uncle's voice, Dipper shot up from his bed and stared at him with wide brown eyes.

"What is it Grunkle Ford?" He began to get up, grabbing his clothes and taking off his shirt before stopping.

Bill laughed and shut the door quietly begin him. He let Ford drop to the floor before stepping out and grinning at the shirtless brunette. Dipper was blushing furiously as Bill kicked an unconscious Ford out of the room. 

"Bill what the heck!? You can't do that" Dipper yelled, holding the shirt to his chest. 

Bill smirked and sat next to Dipper on his bed, leaning in so that their noses were touching. Dipper turned even redder and Bill just laughed, ignoring his growing affection towards the boy.

The door opened behind them and Dipper fell backwards with a yelp. Bill snapped his head towards the door and could feel his cheeks heating up as he saw who it was. 

Mabel was standing at the door, already dressed, giving the two a smug look. 

"Not interrupting anything am I, boys?" 

Dipper shook his head furiously before hiding his face in his shirt. Bill stood up, stretched then followed the older twin towards the kitchen. 

"So, why was Ford passed out by Dipper's door?" She asked. 

Bill shrugged "experiment gone wrong?" 

Mabel sighed and pushed a plate of waffles towards Bill. 

"Yeah, right" 

"What? You don't believe me, shooting star?" 

"No, I don't" 

Bill frowned and stabbed his waffle with his fork, taking a large bite from it. Syrup dripped down his chin but he ignored it.

"I'm going round Pacifica's today so Dipper's gonna look after you, okay?" 

"What? I don't need looking after" Bill puffed out his chest proudly "I'm a dream demon". 

"Not anymore" 

Bills smile faded. He angrily took a bite from his waffle, glaring daggers at Mabel. 

Dipper walked in and sat the furthest away from the feasting demon. He was still red. Mabel passed him his own plate of food before explaining her plans for the day. He nodded and looked over to Bill hesitantly. 

"Don't worry Pine tree, I won't try anything like that again" Bill wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're lying" 

Mabel laughed and left the two to argue. 

Mabel Pines set off into the woods with a backpack full of food, a blanket and a couple of cool books she'd wanted to show the blonde. She took out her phone and headphones and hummed along to her music along the way. Her music stopped as her phone buzzed. A text from Pacifica. 

Paz: hey Mabel, I'm waiting outside the mansion now, I found a really neat place near the falls which I think you'd like

Shooting star: awesome!! Be there in 5

Mabel smiled. Today was the day she had decided to confess her undying love for Pacifica. Even thinking about it made her chest tighten. The thought of rejection was painful. She took in a deep breath and stepped out from the undergrowth. Pacifica spotted her and her grin widened. 

"Hey Mabel" Pacifica greeted before lifting up a bag of her own "hope you don't mind, I brought some food too". 

"Oooh" Mabel cooed "rich people food?" 

Pacifica laughed and shook her head "sandwiches made by yours truly"

Mabel fake gasped "a Northwest making me and sandwich? I'm honoured" 

After another ten minutes of chatting and walking, they made it to their destination. Mabel looked up, eyes wide. This place was beautiful. She had a great view of the waterfall and there was was a little stream crossing through the middle of the clearing. 

"This is amazing" 

"I know right? I found it while I was....uh...when I ran away for a bit" 

Mabel frowned, pulling the taller girl into a hug. 

"Come on, don't be like, this! I want this to be a happy day" she gave her an encouraging grin and Pacifica almost instantly lightened up. 

"Thanks" Pacifica chuckled and sat down on the blanket Mabel had spread out. 

"DATING START!" Mabel raised a fist into the air triumphantly and sat down next to the blonde. 

"Did you just make a video game reference?" Pacifica asked, recognising the quote from a strange game she caught Mabel playing.

Mabel nodded.

"Nerd" 

Both laughed. Mabel set out a small box of homemade cupcakes and a little cooler with Pitt cola that she somehow managed to sneak past Stan, whilst Pacifica neatened everything up and set out her own food.

Both talked and feasted for a while. Mabel was still trying to work up the courage to ask Pacifica out but her mind kept going back to the thought the blonde might reject her and every time she tried to tell her, no words came out of her mouth.

"Are you ok?" 

Mabel nodded, giving her a shy smile. 

Pacifica raised an eyebrow. "Liar" 

Mabel took a deep breath "there's... Something I've been meaning to tell you.."


	20. Chapter 20

Mabel Pines shut her mouth, instantly regretting the words that had just come out of her mouth. She watched Pacifica raise an eyebrow and stare at the shorter girl with sudden curiosity. Mabel avoided eye contact, shoving a small piece of homemade muffin into her mouth and started slowly chewing. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" Pacifica scooted closer.

Mabel started to sweat. She swallowed the food and turned away. Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes, ready to let out all her feelings. Why was she acting like this? This wasn't Mabel. Maybe she could confess her love through terrible puns? 

"Soo... I think its time I should" she paused and took another breath. Her heart was beating fast in her chest. Her hands were clammy. "Confess my Undyne-ing love for you???" 

"Mabel..." Pacifica held a hand up to her mouth and chuckled.

"Uhh..." Mabel shuffled awkwardly.

"Mabel" Pacifica repeated, grinning as she shuffled closer, wrapping an arm around the brunette. 

"I love you a skele-ton!" Mabel turned bright red as Pacifica planted a kiss on her cheek. 

"Dork" 

"Shut up" Mabel buried her face in the others shoulder, breathing in her scent. 

"You do know I didn't understand that first pun, right?" Pacifica asked. 

Mabel nodded "you'll understand it when I show you where its from".

"There's no way you're getting me into a dorky video game" 

Mabel laughed "just you wait and see" 

They sat in silence for what felt like hours but was probably just minutes, huddled up against one another, enjoying the others company. It was Pacifica who broke the silence with an awkward cough.

"So are we like, dating now or what?" Pacifica pulled away from Mabel and stared down at her. 

"Do you wanna date?" 

Pacifica started to nod but stopped. Her smile fell. "Yes I do, but my parents..." she ran a hand through her hair and bit her lip. 

Mabel grabbed onto Pacifica's hands, ignoring how sweaty hers were. The blonde didn't seem to mind. "We can keep it a secret from them" 

"But they've been trying to hook me up with a guy for years" Pacifica sighed "I can't tell them I'm not interested, they'd flip out!" 

"Okay, here's the plan" Mabel squeezed her hands "we don't tell them. If they keep getting you to date a guy, then keep rejecting them" Mabel paused before grinning mischievously "and if that fails, just fake date Dipper".

Pacifica let out a wheezing sound "no way! Your brother meets none of my standards"

"And I do?" 

Pacifica did a half nod, half shrug before saying " yeah. I mean, he's so awkward and sweaty" she shuddered.

Mabel laughed, adding "and I can cook without almost setting the house on fire".

"He did that?" 

"Yup! Our parents grounded him for like, a month and banned him from the kitchen" Mabel burst out laughing "it was hilarious" 

"I wish I was there" both girls laughed, holding onto each other for support. 

"Well, I guess we should pack up?" Mabel said, standing up.

She stretched before picking up the half eaten food and shoving it into a plastic bag. She then placed the bag into her backpack and proceeded to roll up the blanket. 

"Need any help?" Pacifica asked, packing her her containers. 

Mabel shook her head "nah, I got it Paz" 

"At least let me walk you home?" 

"Okay, fine"

Pacifica grabbed Mabel's hand and pulled her into the woods. They walked back to the shack slowly, making little conversation. Once the got to the worn out shack, Pacifica turned Mabel around. She leant in and kissed the brunette on the lips. Both girls turned bright red but neither pulled away. 

It lasted a couple of minutes before Mabel pulled away, out of breath. She gave Pacifica a toothy grin before letting her go and turning back towards the shack. 

"Thanks a metta-ton!" Mabel winked. 

"Oh my god Mabel please stop" Pacifica ran a hand down her face, trying to hide her laughter. 

"You're laughing" 

"I know! And I hate it!" 

Mabel burst out a laughing, holding onto her sides, bent double "you just made a reference without knowing it! I'm so proud" 

"Dammit" 

They kissed again and then went their separate ways.

Mabel burst into the gift shop, beaming. Bill was by the window, he had mostly likely watched the whole thing. He watched her with curious eyes as she made her way towards the kitchen. The demon followed closely behind, making the older twin slightly uncomfortable. Mabel put all the containers back before turning around to head up to her room. Bill was standing in the doorway, hands on hips. 

"What was that?" He asked. He didn't seems angry, just curious. 

"It was love! Wait.. Or did you mean the pun???" 

"What's a pun?" 

"Okay, never mind" 

"So" Bill leant on the doorframe, raising an eyebrow. 

"I'm dating Pacifica now I guess?" Mabel didn't know the answer he wanted, but this was a good start.

"Dating..." He said the word slowly, somehow managing to slightly miss pronounce it. "I've heard of this human dating". 

"Really?" 

Bill nodded "I've done my research." 

"Then why don't you know what a pun is?" Mabel smirked as bills smug grin faded. 

"They seem insignificant".

Mabel laughed and pushed Bill out the way. Bill yelped and shouted curses at her as she made her way to her room. She shut the door and lay on her bed, thinking about her day with Pacifica and how her life couldn't get any better than this.


	21. Chapter 21

Pacifica Northwest stepped into the mansion and sighed happily. Her heart was beating fast and her cheeks bright red. Mabel had finally asked her out. With cheesy puns. Adorable. She took in a deep breath, suppressing a happy giggle as she walked past her parents, sat around a large wooden table, talking to some important looking people Pacifica didn't recognise. 

She made her way upstairs and set her bag down. Now she was alone. She jumped up onto her bed and squealed. She was happy. Very happy. 

"I can't believe it!" Pacifica grinned to herself in the mirror as she took off her makeup. 

It was getting late and she needed her beauty sleep after all. She was about to slip into bed and close her eyes when something sharp jabbed into her side. She sat up and pulled the covers off her bed. The small triangular pin she'd found in the ruins of the shack hit the floor with a quiet thud. Her eyes widened. She swore she'd put it in her clothes drawer.... Someone had been in her room. She took a deep breath and stood up to retrieve the pin. 

As soon as her feet touched the carpeted floor, all the colour drained from her room. She gasped and fell back onto her bed, heavy pin in one hand. A familiar yellow triangle stepped out of the darkness, his one eye glaring down at her as he floated forwards. 

"Hello llama" he took off his top hat and bowed at the blonde, making her shuffle further away from the demon. 

Bill Cipher chuckled, throwing the hat back onto his head and changing into his human form. He dropped to the floor and took a step towards Pacifica, hand held out. 

"Give me the the pin, llama" 

"Wh-why should I" Pacifica tried to sound brave but she was tired and wanted to sleep. She held the pin close to her chest and brought her knees up to protect it.

She'd talked to Dipper about the pin earlier and he had said to keep a close eye on it. He'd been worried about Pacifica keeping it in case something like this happened. Oops. 

"Because I need it" Bill's gaze turned away from her. 

"Why" 

"Stop asking so many-"

"Just answer it!" Pacifica felt like crying. She hated Bill. He ruined her life.

"Look" Bill sighed and stepped forward once again, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets. "Just between you and me, llama, the Pines aren't exactly good people". 

"You're just saying that because you're mad that they kept defeating you" 

"I'm not lying. Sixer? He left his brother. I know it wasn't his fault but he lost contact with all his family. They were worried about him. They kept trying to contact him, even after he had gone through the portal. You know who had to answer them? Fez". 

"So?" Pacifica raised an eyebrow. Both twins had already told her this story before.

"Fez? He's a criminal, banned almost everywhere! Did you know he stole the golf cart?" Bill smirked. 

"He's a good guy" Pacifica objected weakly. 

"And finally, Pine tree and Shooting star, I guess you could say they were good but they're selfish" Bill sighed and rubbed his temples "ugh, you distracted me... Okay, just give me the pin" 

Pacifica shook her head "over my dead body" 

Bills smirk widened into a toothy grin "that can be arranged" he held out his hand, now enveloped in blue flames. 

Pacifica let out a sob, flashbacks clouding her mind. She shot up from her bed and pushed past Bill. She half ran, half fell down the stairs and to her parents.

"What's wrong?" 

Pacifica held up a finger, other hand on her knee. She took in a couple of deep breaths and stood back up straight. 

"Bill Ciphers back" she said, still wheezing. She needed to workout. 

Her father's eyes widened. An emotion that Pacifica couldn't read flashed across his face as he ran out of the room "where?" 

"Here" Bill called from the top of the stairs, an evil grin on his face. He slid down the banister and almost fell off. He steadied himself before walking up to Preston. 

"You daughter has something of mine" he looked over Preston's shoulder, his blue eye flashing red. "Could you ask her kindly to give it back". 

Pacifica's father turned to her, eyebrow raised. 

"Are you seriously going to do this?" Pacifica took a step back, trying to hide the pin. "It isn't even his!" 

"Pacifica..." 

Pacifica bolted towards the door, tears running down her cheeks, she was tired. She didn't need this. She headed towards the mystery shack, hoping the Pines twins were still awake.

"Llama" Bill appeared in front of her, his arms folded angrily across his chest.

"Leave me alone" she wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to walk past him. 

Bill blocked the way. 

"You've already done enough damage" Pacifica rolled up her sleeve, revealing the large scars. 

Bill chuckled "no I haven't" 

A bright flash of light blinded Pacifica and when she got her eyesight back, the demon was gone. She looked around. The woods were a lot more scary at night. She didn't want to go back to her parents, they'd be mad. And Bill had probably gone back to the shack. 

She looked down at the pin in her hand. "This is your fault" she angrily shoved it into her pocket and made her way towards the shack once again.


	22. Chapter 22

Dipper Pines woke up to someone banging on the back door to the shack. Since no one had answered it, or woken up, he figured he should probably just go and check it out. It was almost 3am after all and he just wanted to sleep. 

He stood up and let the blankets wrapped around him fall onto the floor. Trying to rub the sleep from his eyes, and failing, he made his way towards the door, stepping over Bill's bed only to find it was empty. Dipper stood there, frozen. Was the person outside Bill? No. He could teleport. 

Dipper was about to answer his questions when Bill popped up in front of him, his eye glowing a bright crimson, teeth bared. 

"Don't open the door, pine tree" he growled, placing firm hands onto the brunettes shoulders.

He gave Dipper a shove but the taller boy didn't move.

"Go back to bed" Dipper started to get angry, the demon should be sleeping.

Bill frowned and dropped his arms to his sides. The banging echoed through the hallway and Dipper got more nervous as it went on. Was it just a lost tourist? No, why would Bill act like this?

Dipper stepped around Bill, who started immediately complaining that he should not open the door, and strode towards said door. He rest his hand on the handle, looking back at Bill who was now frantically shaking his head. He pushed the door open and saw Pacifica standing there, her right hand raised to knock again. She was clutching something else in her left. Dipper stepped to the side and motioned to her to get into the shack. 

Pacifica did but froze when her eyes met Bill's. She stepped back, her eyes growing wide. 

"Go to bed Bill" Dipper repeated calmly, glaring at the demon. 

Reluctant, he gave the brunette a little nod before turning on his heel and walking into Dipper's room, slamming the door shut. Dipper turned back to Pacifica, giving her an apologetic look.

"We should talk in the attic" 

"But isn't Mabel sleeping up there?" Pacifica was out of breath and wheezing slightly but managed to choke out that before coughing violently. Tears dribbled down her cheeks as she spoke. 

Dipper guided the blonde to the kitchen and passed her a glass of water. Pacifica took little sips, managing to calm herself down. When she could talk again, she said "okay let's go" 

Dipper nodded and silently made his way up the old stairs, missing the one that groaned when he stepped on it. Pacifica copied his steps until they both stood outside Mabel's door. 

"Stay" Dipper opened the door and quietly shut it behind him. The room was almost pitch black except from a string of fairy lights wrapped around Mabel's bed frame. 

Dipper searched for the light switch. Upon finding it, he flicked it on and heard Mabel groan. He kept flicking it on and off until Mabel shot up, rubbing her eyes, to glare at Dipper. 

"Can you not" she croaked.

"This is an emergency!" Dipper ran up to his sister, pulling off the blankets carefully placed on her bed.

Mabel sighed and stood up, going to her drawer to find a hoodie to warm up. The summer nights were surprisingly cold in Oregon. As she slid on the hoodie, Dipper let Pacifica in. The girls eyes locked and the both grinned, cheeks turning red. 

"Oh hey, I forgot to tell you we're dating now, dip" Mabel said proudly.

"Congrats" Dipper laughed "took you long enough". 

Both girls blushed which made the younger twin laugh harder. Pacifica sat down on the end of Mabel's bed and Dipper stood by the door to make sure no demons decided to crash in. 

"So why where you at outside at this hour?" Dipper asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Pacifica held out her had to reveal the pin.

"Oh" Dipper didn't know what to say other than that.

The pin definitely had something to do with Bill. That's probably why he was acting so weird...

"Bill was trying to get it from me so I panicked" Pacifica began explaining her situation. 

"You can stay here for the night, Paz" Mabel suggested, patting her bed.

Pacifica turned bright red but gave the older twin a shy nod. 

Dipper left soon after, deciding to sort out what to do with the pin in the morning, when everyone was awake. 

Both girls snuggled together, falling a asleep quickly.


	23. Chapter 23

Bill cipher woke up early the next day. He sat up and looked over to Dipper who was fast asleep. Standing up, careful not to wake the brunette up, he crept out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. 

He ran a hand through his hair and checked on the two sleeping grunkles before heading up to the attic. He opened the door and saw the two girls, fast asleep. Mabel was hugging Pacifica, her face buried in her back and Pacifica facing the wall, a small smile on her pink lips. Bill choked back a gag. Human love was disgusting. That still didn't explain why he felt weird when he was with Pine tree though... 

Shaking his head, he looked around the room. He spotted the pin on Mabel's bedside table and extended on arm to grab it. He yelped quietly as he felt something touch his arm. Turning, he saw Mabel glaring at him sleepily. 

"What do you think you're doing?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes. 

Bill tried to move his arm but the older twins grip was strong. He started to panic. 

"Just give me the pin" he grit his teeth. 

"Over my dead body" 

Something snapped in Bill and his eye turned bright red once again. He grinned a toothy grin and lifted his arm off the table and dropped it to his side. He stood up fully and grabbed Mabel by the collar of her shirt. Mabel winced as he brought her up to eye level with surprising strength. 

"That can be arranged" he whispered, dropping the girl and standing over her. 

He stepped into her body, making her ghost fly out. She started to yell angrily at him but he was too busy to listen. He stood up and shook Pacifica awake. 

She blinked open her eyes and smiled as she saw who was waking her. 

"Hey Mabel" she stretched and sat up, wrapping the glittery blankets around her skinny shoulders. "What time is it?"

"Time to wake up! Come on lla- paz... Let's go wake up dip" 

Pacifica didn't seem to notice the slip up and nodded "Okay, I just need to clean up a bit" she gestured to her bedhead.

Bill forced a laugh, nodding himself as Pacifica made her way to the bathroom. 

Mabel floated over to Bill, sitting next to him on her bed "so" she said, surprisingly calm considering the situation. 

"So?"

"Why do you need that pin?" Mabel asked, glancing over to the object. 

Bill smirked, picking it up and fiddling with it. "Oh Y'know" he shrugged, holding it up towards the sunlight "this is my key to freedom".

"What?"

"Well, I said I was in trouble..." Bill turned the pin over and examined the back "using this will get them off my back! I can go home".

"Get who off your back?"

"No one" Bill growled putting the pin back on the table and standing up as Pacifica walked out of the bathroom. They both walked down the stairs, hand in hand.

Mabel made a mental note to show the pin the Ford, just to confirm what Bill had said. Something about this didn't seem right. She followed the two into the kitchen where Dipper was sitting, reading a book, feet propped on the table. Stan was watching over a pan of bacon. Ford was nowhere to be seen, probably in his lab. 

"Morning" Dipper greeted the girls with a small nod, not looking up from his book. 

Must be a good one Mabel thought. 

Five minutes later, Stan slid three plates of bacon and eggs onto the table. Dipper and Pacifica tucked in straight away but Bill grimaced and pushed the plate away. 

"Mabel are you OK?" Stan said through a mouthful of egg. 

Bill nodded "just not... Feeling well". 

"Need any medicine? Painkillers?"

Bill shook his head. 

"I can't believe they can't tell it's you" Mabel sighed.

"Hey" Dipper spoke up, waving his fork around "where's Bill". 

Bill froze "Uhh... I think I saw him outside! Probably doing demon stuff".

Dippers eyes widened "shouldn't we look for him? He could be trying to start the apocalypse". 

"He is" Stan mumbled. 

"Then let's go!" Dipper stood up, pulled on his pine tree hat and grabbed journal 3 from his room. 

"Maybe we should just leave him??" Bill said. 

"What!? Are you okay, Mabel?" Pacifica placed a hand on his forehead and drew back. 

"So cold" 

"I'm fine" Bill was panicking. This wasn't the plan "maybe we should get the pin?"

"Good idea!" Dipper ran upstairs.

Bill sighed and sat back down, resting his head in his hands. Pacifica rubbed his shoulder.

"If you're not feeling well, you can sit this out" 

"IM FINE" Bill yelled, his eyes glowing yellow for a split second. He turned away from Pacifica and proceeded to stare at he table.

Pacifica backed away into the other room to help Dipper. 

∆ ∆ ∆

Dipper Pines ran down the stairs to see Pacifica waiting by the door, looking freaked out. 

"You OK?" 

"Mabel's acting weird..." Pacifica frowned "we should leave her here". 

Dipper nodded and opened the door for the two to walk out. They headed towards the woods. 

∆ ∆ ∆

Ford Pines walked into the kitchen, holding today's newspaper in one hand, his other adjusting his glasses. He poured himself a glass of milk before turning to head back to his lab. He spotted Mabel, almost laying on the table, and knew something was up.

"Mabel, sweetie" he stepped closer. 

"Sixer" Mabel turned around, her yes glowing yellow. 

She gave him a toothy grin and stood up. 

"Bill what the h-" Ford was cut off and thrown against the wall.

"Tell anyone and I'll kill you" Bill said, standing over the man "I need that pin". 

"The pin? Oh no!" Ford tackled the demon to the ground and ran up to Mabel's room. 

Grabbing the pin, he turned around to see Bill standing in the doorway. 

"Hand. Me. The. Pin" with every word he stepped closer.


	24. Chapter 24

Stanford Pines took a step back as Bill started walk towards him. He clutched the pin tight in his hand. 

"Let her go" he said through gritted teeth. 

"Make me" Bill laughed, sliding his hands into his hoodie pockets and taking another small step forward.

Ford was panicking. There was definitely no escape and Bill still had his powers. He started to wonder if Bill being hunted down was just a lie. To get closer to the Pines. To murder each of them slowly while the others watched. Ford shook that thought out of his head, ducked underneath the demons arm and started running to the back door. 

Bill let out an impatient grunt and turned around. He started running at the old man, making him break into a sprint. He opened the door and jumped down the steps. Dipper and Pacifica appeared out from the woods. Bill stopped running. Ford did not. 

"Grunkle ford?" He stopped beside Dipper, out of breath. He still had the pin. Thank God. 

"D-Dipper" he said though wheezes "I'm too old for this..." He paused for a couple of seconds, enough time for Bill to walk up, a fake smile on his face. 

"We couldn't find Bill, he must be in back in the shack" Dipper said, trying to break the silence whilst also checking Ford was okay.

"That because.... Bill... I-is Mabel" Bill cut Ford off by stepping in front of him. 

"Heh, he's crazy" he shrugged innocently "I don't think he's slept in a while". 

Dipper stood there, looking confused. Pacifica had walked up to Ford, demanding answers.

"What?" She hissed, crouching down to his level. 

Ford was now on the floor, after being pushed rather violently by Bill. 

"Bill got Mabel" he muttered back. 

Pacifica nodded and helped him up. She turned to Dipper "I'm gonna walk Ford back to the shack and check if he's okay" 

"Okay" 

They started walking back slowly. Ford was still wheezing, but not as badly as he was before. He was clutching his arm. Maybe he dislocated it? Or broke it! Pacifica was pretty good with medical stuff but not that good.

"Are you okay?" 

"Yeah" 

She sat him down in Stans armchair. He sighed happily and sunk into it, closing his eyes. Pacifica sat on the arm of the chair, head still filled with questions. 

"So" she said, twirling her hair absentmindedly. "When did this happen?"

"What? Oh.. Mabill?" Ford opened his eyes and adjusted his glasses. "She was fine yesterday so it must've been this morning". 

"Still after the pin?" 

Ford nodded, opening his hand to reveal said pin. 

Pacifica frowned.

∆ ∆ ∆

Dipper pines narrowed his eyes. His sister was acting... Weird. Weirder than usual.

"What was Ford doing?" He questioned.

Mabel, or who he though was Mabel replied "he took something".   
"Too vague, sis" Dipper put his hands on his hips. 

"Uhh..." 

"Wait" Dipper sighed and ran his hand down his face. He was so stupid for not guessing this earlier. "Bill" he said, annoyed "get out". 

"Oh come on!" Bill pouted "was it that obvious?"

"Bill oh my god" Dipper grabbed his shoulders and pushed him towards the shack "come on". 

Bill wriggled out of Dipper's hold and ran towards the shack. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife he could find, then ran back outside. By now, Ford, Stan and Pacifica were outside, watching him with wide, scared eyes. 

"Bill" Ford warned, holing out a shaky hand. He was scared. Everyone was. 

Mabel, the real Mabel, had caught on to what he was doing and was now screaming at him to stop. Bill ignored her, holding out the knife for all to see. 

It was Pacifica who first snapped. She was shaking violently, tears were forming in her eyed. She stepped forward. 

"Bill please" she let out a shaky breath and pulled up her sleeve. Bill glanced at the scars on her arm and grinned. Good times. 

"You already done enough damage, just let her go" she was on the verge of crying now. 

"Give me the pin and I'll give you back shooting star" Bill looked over and the group, an evil grin on his face. 

"Don't do it!! I'd rather die then let Bill have that pin" Mabel yelled. She was angry. Very, very angry. If she actually had a body she would punch Bill. Hard. 

Bill looked up at her, his grin widening "If you say so" he shrugged and raised the knife to his chest. 

"No, no" Ford held out the pin in his hand. "Take it".

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP!" Mabel tried to stop Ford. But no one could see her. Tears streamed down her face. Bill was up to something, he shouldn't have that pin. 

Bill reached for the pin then stopped. "Guys" he said, surprisingly chill for someone who was about to kill a teenager then destroy humanity. "Shooting star is yelling at you not to do this" he chuckled "you should probably listen to her if you want to live" 

"Wait" it was Dipper's turn to speak now. He looked up and made direct eye contact with Mabel. Then, he disappeared into the shack, later reappearing with a sock puppet. Mabel grinned. 

She took the puppet and slid her hand into it. Finally, she could communicate. 

By now Ford had retracted his arm. He stood there, wide eyed at the floating sock puppet before him. 

"What..." 

"We'll explain later" Mabel said, moving this mouth of the puppet as she spoke. Dork. 

"So, what does this pin really do?" Dipper asked.


	25. Chapter 25

Bill cipher laughed. It was a genuine laugh, very unlike Bill. He threw his head back and everything. Even wiped a tear away. He grinned an impossible grin. It was literally ear to ear. Dipper shuddered.

"Well" he began, eyeing the pin, currently trapped in Ford's hand, "yes, I am actually being 'hunted down' by a bunch of demons I kind of... Blackmailed. The pin has something to do with them as well but that's not important" he shrugged innocently, mostly to himself "the pin also has a great power, far too complicated for you humans to understand".

Stan stepped forward angrily, his fists clenched. Ford held out an arm to stop his brother from possibly injuring himself as well as his beloved niece. 

"So I won't go into the details" Bill was watching Stanley with curious eyes. He was waiting for the first Pines to snap. Then, and only then would he stab shooting star and grab the pin. 

"No, no...please do" Ford glared at the demon. Yes, he was angry, who wasn't? But he was very curious. How much power did the tiny pin in his hand possess?? 

Bill chuckled and shook his head "like I said, far too complicated for humans." he scanned the group, which had formed a circle around him. There was no escape now. Even the mystery shack employee, Soos had stepped out of the gift shop to help. And that lumberjack kid, what was her name? Icebag. 

"But" he held out a hand, engulfed in blue flames "I'd like to make a deal with you, sixer". 

The floating sock puppet opened its mouth. "Don't do it Grunkle Ford!!" It soared towards the old man and slapped itself across his face. 

He tried to hide his little grin as his niece repeatedly, but softly, began to slap his face with the sock, repeating "doooont doo ittt!!"

"We have no choice" he gave her a little shrug. 

Bill grinned. He was scared. He could literally smell the fear radiating off this small family. 

"Yes we do" Mabel floated over to Dipper, nudging his jacket "the journal". 

Bill laughed "you still have that old thing?" He placed his hands on his hips and raised his eyebrows "I should've destroyed those years ago". He swore under his breath. 

Dipper smiled at the sock and pulled out the journal, flipping to the right page. 

"Wait..." He turned to Ford, his face pale "you didn't right a weakness in here".

Bill laughed even harder. 

"Oh" Ford stared at his boots for what seemed like minutes but were only mere seconds, before smirking "but it know his weakness". 

Bill stopped laughing and turned to face him. He held up the knife once again, twirling it in fingers. Ford stopped and stared at the weapon. 

"We can do this the easy way.." He held out his hand again "or the hard way" he held the knife in his other hand to his chest. 

Everyone took a step back, scared. Wendy pulled out a dirty looking axe, though it probably would serve no use. She did look very threatening though. Soos was glaring but Bill couldn't take him seriously. Dipper was staring at Bill sadly. He stepped forward and began walking up to the demon, which surprised him. He panicked and started to slice at his fingers. Dipper broke into a light run, his hands held out, signalling for him to stop.

"No, Bill!" He bit his lip was he watched the blood drip onto the grass "o-ok, I just want to talk to you" he said quietly. 

Bill raised an eyebrow "go on".

Dipper looked as if he were about to cry and he looked up the demon filled with determination. 

"I-i trusted you, Bill" his voice was shaky but came out as only a whisper. He was avoiding eye contact, staring at his shoes. "I thought you were changing...".

Bill snorted. 

Dippers hands balled into fists and he stomped his foot angrily. "Look" he said, raising his voice slightly. "I-i though we were friends but n-now". 

Bill felt weird. He clutched his stomach, grimacing. "Dipper..".

Dippers head shot up, his brown eyes wide. It made Bill feel weird and fuzzy inside. 

"You called me by my real name!" He had back the grin beginning to form. 

"So what?" Bill shuddered.

"Well" Dipper awkwardly scratched the back of his neck "I kinda...like you?" He said more loudly than he had intended.

"Now's not really the time, Dipper" Mabel yelled.

Dipper blushed and nodded "you're right" he faced the demon and looked him straight in the eyes. "Can you give me Mabel back so we can talk about this?"

Bill hesitated, watching the blood trail stop. He looked at Dipper, then at Ford. 

"I really need that pin" he said. 

Dipper looked heartbroken. It made Bill feel even weirder... 

"Can't you just give her back?" Dipper sounded desperate now. Tears streamed down his face. "Forget about the pin for one second?" 

Bill slowly shook his head. He felt horrible but it had to be done. Getting the pin would clear his name and he'd get infinite power, so it was a win win. But staying with Dipper did sound very tempting.

Oh no, why did he feel this way towards the Pines boy. He didn't like this feeling but at the same time... He kind of did? But Bill was a demon who worked solo, he couldn't afford to lose this chance to grab the pin. 

Bill blinked and rose his hand with the knife in it. He brought it down fast. Closing his eyes, he felt pain jolt through him before falling to his knees. He rolled out of the body. By now everyone had started yelling and ran up to Mabel. 

The demon took this chance. He took the pin and ran off. Before he left, he caught Dipper staring at him. He was sobbing grossly.

"I'm sorry" he mumbled before stepping into a portal and disappearing.


	26. Chapter 26

Mabel Pines woke up to a blinding light and a figure standing over her. As she gained her vision, the figure turned out to be an unfamiliar looking woman wearing a long white jacket and holding a clipboard. She was scribbling something onto some paperwork in a dark blue pen. Mabel blinked and tried to sit up. She grunted as she felt pain jab at her sides. The woman looked down at her. 

"Ah, you're awake!" She gave the brunette a small smile and wrote down something on the paper. 

The woman nodded to herself and looked up from her clipboard. "I'll be back in a sec!" She quickly exited the room.

Mabel blinked slowly. Trying to recall what had happened and why she was in a strange white room. She tried to get up once again and was met by the same pain. She sighed in defeat and lay back down. Now that she was awake, her memory was slowly coming back. She closed her eyes and let out a long breath, ignoring her aching chest. 

∆ ∆ ∆ 

Mabel gasped and curled up into a ball. The pain was overwhelming and she was loosing blood fast. Very fast. Bill had decided to stab her, even after Dipper just admitted his crush. Mabel grit her teeth, angry at not only herself, but also at Bill for dismissing her brothers feelings. She squeezed her eyes shut and listened to the frantic cries coming from her family. The person who stood out was her girlfriend. It hadn't even been a week and yet she was about to die without having a proper relationship with the girl. A tear slid down her cheek. She was going to die. 

"I've called an ambulance" Stan said, rushing back to Mabel and sitting beside her. He stared at the pool of blood forming beside her, biting his lip. If his niece died, not only would he live with the guilt of not saving her but her parents would kill him and he'd never hear from them again. 

"Thanks" Mabel mumbled. She knew it was no use, she'd already accepted her death. Maybe it was for the greater good? Mabel was about to accept that when she heard another sharp sob come from Pacifica. She opened one eye to look her girlfriend in the eyes. Their gazes locked for a second before Pacifica turned to stare sadly at her feet. Maybe she'd also thought about her inevitable death?

Mabel was very aware that the deep gouge in her chest was worsening and that the pain was unbearable but she couldn't help but feel calm. What if she came back as an animal? She smiled to herself. Maybe a wolf? Or an owl, that'd be awesome! 

"Mabel!" It was Dipper. 

"Mmh?" She grumbled, looking up at her twin. Tears were streaming down his face, his eyes red from crying. He took in a shaky breath and bent down to somewhat her eye level. 

"Look, please don't die on me" he brushed her bangs away from her eyes. 

"I'll try not to" Mabel tried to smirk at her dorky brother but another bolt of pain stopped her. She grunted, curling up into a smaller ball. 

A loud siren and screeching tires broke the awkward silence and sobbing family members. Everyone turned around to see the ambulance, except Mabel, who just groaned. 

Two people stepped out with a stretcher. They carefully guided Mabel onto it and led her into the ambulance. 

∆ ∆∆

Oh yeah, that's what happened. Mabel sighed. At least she didn't die. But everything hurts. 

A couple more minutes of staring at the ceiling, the woman walked back in with two figures walking behind her. She opened the door and nodded to them, muttering something before walking off. 

Stan and Dipper stood beside Mabel's bed, tears in their eyes. They were glad she was okay and not dead. 

"You're finally awake" Stan took off his glasses to rub his eyes. He was grinning goofily, giddy that she was alive. 

Dipper nodded, helping her sit up for the third time. He fluffed up her pillows and set them on the bed. She winced and pulled herself up. 

"Finally?" Mabel raised am eyebrow "how long was I out for?" She watched Stans expression falter, turning into a slight frown. 

He shrugged, counting something on his fingers before he looked back at Mabel, his blue eyes wide "at least a week?"

Mabel let out a small, inaudible gasp. A week? No wonder they looked as if they were about to break down.

"Oh..." Mabel stared down at her crisp bedsheets, trying to avoid eye contact with the two. "I'm sorry..." 

"Don't apologize Mabel" Dipper walked over and sat down in a chair next to her bed. He let out a shaky breath. 

Mabel hadn't forgotten about Dipper's confession to Bill. She almost felt sorry for her brother.

She smiled at started to question them about the past week. They both started talking.


	27. Chapter 27

Mabel Pines stepped into the shack and sighed happily. She had been in the hospital for such a long time, she was actually happy to see the worn down building. Mabel noted that it was a little dustier than it was when she had left but just shrugged it off and went up to her room. Everything was still intact, nothing had been touched or moved. Good. The door creaked behind her and she spun around on her heel. Dipper walked in and gave her a weak smile. 

"Good to see you back"

Mabel grinned. 

"Pacifica's really worried about you" Dipper said, pushing the door shut behind him and sitting on the edge of her bed, "you should text her or something". 

Mabel stood up from her bed, her eyes wide. She would be lying if she said she hadn't forgotten about her lover. But in her defence, she had been in and out of consciousness for the past week.

"I'll do one better" Mabel held up a finger, a goofy grin on her face "I'm going to see her now!"

Dipper chuckled and nodded "OK, but be back by tea, Stans ordering us pizza". 

"Sweet! Tell him to get ham and pineapple for me" Mabel said, grabbing her shoulder bag and stuffing various items into it. 

She planned to spend a couple of hours at her house, just chilling. She placed her laptop and drawing tablet in, excited to show her girlfriend some paintings she'd been working on. 

"Fruit on pizza? That's gross" Dipper stuck out his tongue. 

Mabel shoved him off her bed, laughing. "Dork".

The older twin stepped out of the house and made her way up the familiar route to the Northwest mansion. It didn't take her long, she walked fast. She was worried about Pacifica. 

She raised her hand to knock on the door but stopped, realising her parents or a butler would answer and that's what she didn't want. Instead, Mabel took out her phone and opened up kik, walking to Pacifica's bedroom window as she typed. 

Shooting star: hey Paz! I'm out of hospital, still a bit sore though!

Paz: oh my god, you're alive!? 

Shooting star: yeeeaahh....

Paz: sorry, I've been so worried :(

Shooting star: its okay, I missed you too <3

Shooting star: hey, open you window for a sec

Paz: Mabel, use the door like a normal person

Shooting star: you're no fun D: 

Paz: my parents aren't home and the workers have the day off, it's Sunday Mabel, I have the house to myself for the entire day

Shooting star: okay :O 

Paz: its unlocked, meet me in the kitchen 

Mabel slid her phone back into her pocket and made her way back to the door. She pushed it open and walked to the kitchen. The blonde was sitting on a stool, a large glass of chocolate milk in her hand. She was taking short sips, she looked tense. Mabel stared at her then started walking towards her. There were large bags under her eyes, Mabel could only guess it was because of her. 

"Hey paz" Mabel said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

Pacifica jumped slightly and turned around on the stool. She gave Mabel a small smile and took another sip of her drink. 

"Hi, you look good" Pacifica's voice sounded strained and cracked slightly. 

Mabel frowned and put a hand on her forehead "you okay?" 

"Yeah just" Pacifica opened her mouth and yawned, nearly dropping the glass. She steadied herself and sighed loudly "tired".

Mabel lifted the taller girl off the stool and guided her to her room and onto her bed. She then turned off the lights and got out her laptop. 

"Mabel" Pacifica said, yawning again before continuing "you don't need to do this". 

"Shh" Mabel's eyes were glued to the bright screen in front of her. "What music do you like?"

"What?" The blonde sat up and turned on the lamp beside her bed. She blinked a couple of times and rubbed her eyes, adjusting them to the sudden light.

"I dunno, I just wanted you to feel calm" Mabel tried to explain "to help you sleep". 

Pacifica chuckled. 

"but if you don't mind, I can put on my music" Mabel wiggled her eyes brows "though its not what I would call 'calming'" Mabel laughed to herself "far from it". 

"It's fine, put it on. I can sleep later" Pacifica waved her hand. 

Mabel moved to sit next to Pacifica and scrolled through her playlist. 

"Which one sounds good to you?" 

Pacifica read through the names, stopping on one and pointing to that. Mabel nodded, clicking on the song. Music started to play and Mabel hummed along.

"Stop being so cute"

Mabel shrugged "I can't help it!"

'It's who we are  
Doesn't matter if we've gone too far  
Doesn't matter if it's all okay  
Doesn't matter if it's not our day'

Mabel had started singing along, loud and off key. Pacifica was clapping along and dancing as Mabel sang. 

"That songs my jam" she grinned her perfect grin and opened up a new tab. "Wanna listen to..." She grinned wider, her eyes sparkling "fandom music?" 

Pacifica rolled her eyes but nodded, smiling at her lovers enthusiasm. 

She went onto YouTube and typed in a couple of words, then clicked on the video. Loud, 8-bit sounding music blared through the speakers and once again, Mabel started to hum along. 

Pacifica glanced at the name. "Spider dance?" 

"Yup! It's one of my favourites though I hate the boss, Muffet sucks" she shrugged again. 

"Its from that weird RPG that you like, right?" 

Mabel nodded. 

"What's it called again?? Under...something"

"Undertale" Mabel chirped, opening up steam and logging in. 

"Are you gonna play it?" 

"Do you want me to?" 

Pacifica nodded. She'd been curious about this game over since Mabel starting fangirling over that robot with the 'perfect legs'. 

"Awesome! It might not make sense though because I'm playing the genocide route".

"The what now?"

Mabel sighed and proceeded to explain to alternate endings you could unlock by doing certain things in the game. Very clever. 

They stayed like this for a couple of hours, going round the waterfall, killing a bunch of innocent monsters, then challenging Undyne the undying. Mabel had freaked out when monster kid had tried to fight her but it was okay, she didn't have to kill them. 

Pacifica fell asleep on Mabel's shoulder overcome with tiredness and the fact that Mabel kept dying. Mabel smiled and shut her laptop, laying down next to the blonde and closing her eyes.


	28. Chapter 28

Mabel Pines woke up to someone quietly snoring in her ear. She turned around carefully and stared at the girl sleeping beside her. The blonde had wrapped her skinny arms around Mabel's waist, holding her tight. Her face was buried in Mabel's hair and in their awkward position, the brunette couldn't move unless she wanted her lover to wake up. Which she didn't. Instead, she reached for her phone, switching it on and going to her contacts. She selected Dipper and started typing. 

Shooting star: hey dip! Sorry I didn't make it back, I fell asleep

Pine Tree: its fine, we saved you some pizza 

Shooting star: aww yes! Thanks bro bro

Pine Tree: just get back soon

Shooting star: will do, Paz is still asleep though and I can't wake her

Shooting Star: she looks so cute when she sleeps <3

Pine Tree: I ship you guys so much

Pine Tree: see ya back at the shack, sis 

Mabel grinned and set her phone back on the nightstand. She glanced back at Pacifica, her heart beating faster as she mumbled and turned around, hugging Mabel even tighter. The brunette let out a little gasp but didn't complain. Instead, she just hugged her back, resting her chin the the blondes head and taking in her scent.  

"Mabel" Pacifica blinked open her eyes and yawned slightly. She let go of Mabel to rub her eyes as she pulled herself into a sitting position. She looked down at her girlfriend. "Morning"

"Good morning" Mabel sat up too, sliding her phone into her pocket as she stood up. 

She helped Pacifica up as well and made their way to the kitchen.

"My parents should be home by the afternoon" Pacifica said as she made a bowl of cereal. 

Mabel nodded "OK cool! Wanna come back to the shack and hang out? We have pizza" she wiggled her eyebrows, making Pacifica giggle. 

"I'm not sure, my parents are still mad at me" Pacifica sighed "I don't even know what I did wrong". 

Mabel frowned, her hand making its way to the steadily healing wounds on her chest. Tears welled up in her eyes but she refused to cry. Both girls had been scarred by the dream demon, who knows what he was planning to do next. 

"Its that stupid pin" the taller girl growled, taking an angry spoonful of cereal and chewing it slowly. 

"Yeah" Mabel rest her head in her hands, thinking hard "hey, Paz.." 

"Mmhm" she hummed, still chewing. 

"Well, you know how dip confessed his undying love for Bill?" Mabel looked over to Pacifica, who nodded "well, what if he felt the same way" she paused for a second, watching the blonde for a reaction. Pacifica just stared back with the same beautiful green eyes Mabel loved so much. She went on "and he came back. But he was a good guy and destroyed the pin! And he came to live with us". 

"Maybe" Pacifica had finished her bowl and dumped it into the sink. "And what if he doesn't see the error of his ways and destroys the world?" 

Mabel furrowed he eyebrows and slammed her fist against her palm "then we destroy him!" 

Pacifica bit back a laugh and nodded. 

"Wanna come back to the shack?" Mabel asked.

Pacifica frowned "I don't think I can, I have to help my parents with something" she shrugged "sorry".

Mabel smiled and kissed her cheek. "Its okay, I'll text you later". 

Pacifica pecked her on the lips and walked her out of the mansion. 

Mabel walked into the woods, clutching her bag. She hummed to herself as she passed through the thick trees. 

"Dip, I'm home!" Mabel sung as she opened the door, stepping in and sitting down on Stan's armchair. 

Dipper appeared in the living room, a slice of cold pizza in his hand. He greeted her with a smile and sat on the floor by her feet, turning on the TV. He took another bite from his slice and flicked through the channels. 

"Pizzas in the fridge" Dipper mumbled, finally settling on an old cartoon and staring at the TV.

Mabel got up, making sure not to step on her brother and walked into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and took out the plate of ham and pineapple pizza. She took half and sat back down. 

The twins sat quietly for a while, Mabel nibbling her pizza and Dipper chuckling at the cartoon every once in a while.  

Dipper broke the silence with a cough "so, what now?" 

"We wait" Mabel said, sighing. 

"So you think Bill's gonna come back?" Dippers cheeks were growing red. 

Mabel smirked "of course he will".


	29. Chapter 29

Bill Cipher grinned, putting the pin safely into his pocket and making his way forward. It was pitch black around him, it was the dreamscape after all. He knew where he was going though, to meet some old friends. Bill chuckled. Could he really call them that? Not anymore. 

He waved his hand and a ball of blue light appeared. It grew and he stepped inside. He was now in a room, a very dark one, lit up by various purple candles around the room. Bill jumped over some scattered objects, maybe they were body parts, he wasn't sure, and made his way into the middle of the room. His yellow eye glowed in the dark room as he looked around, hoping to see movement. Something purple caught his eye. He turned around on his heel, reaching out to grab something. A person. No, a demon. 

A tall man, much taller than Bill, stood beside him. He had short black hair with purple hightlights and bright purple eyes, one covered by a star shaped eye patch. He grinned down at the smaller man. 

"I'm glad you came, cipher" he chuckled, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jet black jacket.

"Take me to Tad" Bill growled.

The taller demon hesitated before nodding and clicking his gloved fingers. The room was lit up and now Bill could see where he was. Well, not like he didn't know, he'd just never payed attention to his surroundings until now. He spotted some desks, covered in strange multicolored liquids. Demon blood? Bill frowned. 

He jumped as the other demon put his hand on his back, guiding him into a large open door. Bill felt a lump form in his throat. Was this really a good idea? Yes! He had the pin! 

"This is as far as I'm taking you, cipher" the purple demon said, backing away to go back to guarding the door. 

Bill nodded, silently thanking him before turning back to his destination. 

Though of Dipper flashed through his mind. He blinked slowly and stopped walking. What was this feeling? It didn't feel very good. He wanted to see the younger twin again but he couldn't. He took in a deep breath and stepped into a new room. It was fully lit, unlike the other. Another demon was sat in a large chair behind a desk. He had the same black hair but wore a sky blue suit. Tad strange. 

"Hello Bill" Tads face stretched into a wide grin as he held out his hand. 

Bill hesitated. He was starting to regret this. "Hey". 

Tad frowned and he tilted his head to the side. "You don't have it?"

"Of course I do" Bill growled, placing a had in his pocket to retrieve the pin "I almost got killed getting this" Bill frowned "I almost killed someone" he muttered.

"Give it here" Tad leant over the desk slightly, his hand outstretched to grab the pin. 

Bill stopped. He had made up his mind. He wanted to stay with Dipper. "No". 

Tad sat up straight, his eye growing blood red. "What?" 

"I-i said no" Bill yelled, hating himself for stuttering. Now was not the time! 

Tad stood up, slamming his hands on the desk. Bill took a step back, almost tripping over his own feet. 

"Don't mess with me, cipher" Tad growled, jumping over the desk to walk up with the smaller demon.

"I'm not scared of you" Bill spat, clutching the pin. 

Tad laughed "well, you should be" he grabbed Bill's arm and snapped it. 

Bill screeched and dropped to the floor. The pin rolled out of his hand. Tad laughed harder, kicking the demon and drawing blood. He took the pin and placed it on the desk before picking Bill up. 

"This is what you get to messing with me" he grinned.

∆ ∆ ∆

Dipper pines frowned slightly, flicking though the final pages of the first journal. This was at least the fourth time he'd read the ancient book but he could never let go of it. There had to be more secrets Ford wasn't telling them about. Were the more demons out there? Probably. Dipper shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about Bill. He was gone, it was over. It was only a matter of time before he destroyed the world and that would be it. Dipper has accepted it. He was heartbroken to say the least.

He sighed and picked up the second journal from the pile and opened it up. 

"Dipper! Hey! Dip" Mabel darted from the woods, she was sprinting towards him. She looked scared, like she'd seen a ghost, Dipper snorted. She had seen ghosts before. 

"What's up?" He asked, surprisingly calm. 

"I- I found Bill" she was out of breath. He waited for her to regain her breath.

"Bill?" He asked, the name made his heart ache but this seemed important. 

"Yeah, he looks hurt, we need to help him!" Mabel pulled Dipper's sleeve, making him stand up. 

Dipper frowned "I don't think I want to". 

"Oh come on!" Mabel let go and rolled her eyes "he left you, you're heartbroken, get over it!" 

"Shut up" he replied quietly, following Mabel into the woods. 

She walked confidently in front. Though it was more of a slow jog than a walk. She was worried. He should've been worried. But he wasn't. 

Mabel stopped and Dipper copied. The twins stood in front of a body, covered in blood. Dippers eyes widened.

"Bill?"


	30. Chapter 30

Dipper pines knelt next to Bill's small figure, slowly wiping the blood off his cheek. He turned to Mabel, his eyes wide and scared. 

"Do you know what happened?" He asked. 

Mabel shook her head "nope, I just found him here" she was standing beside Dipper, hands in pockets and looking calmer than she had been a couple of minutes ago. 

Dipper sighed, running a hand down his face. He stood up, turning to his sister. A tear rolled down his cheek. He was worried. 

"We need to get him back to the shack" Dipper wiped his eyes with his sleeve and picked up the demon, slinging him over his shoulder. 

Mabel nodded, following behind. She took out a bandage from her pocket, wrapping it around the large wound around his arm. 

"Where did you get those?" Dipper raised an eyebrow. 

Mabel chuckled, grinning slightly "I keep some spare in all my hoodies, just in case..." Her grin faltered slightly. She placed a hand over her chest and sighed. 

Dipper nodded, not replying, he just continued walking. Mabel licked her lips and followed once again. When they arrived at the shack, Dipper broke the silence. 

"What do we tell Ford?" He asked, suddenly realising how bad this idea was. Ford would've left Bill to die but Dipper almost felt bad for him. Almost. 

"We should just explain the situation, I'm sure he'll understand!" She suggested with a small shrug. Her gaze turned to Bill.

He looked awful, his clothing was ripped beyond repair and there was blood everywhere. It didn't look like human blood though, it was a dark maroon colour and it looked much thicker. It stuck to Dipper's hands as he set Bill down on the wooden platform outside the gift shop. He wiped down his hands on his jacket, hoping it wouldn't stain. Mabel had already gone inside to seek out Ford, and maybe Stan. 

This was honestly the most Innocent Dipper had seen Bill. Like this, he looked like a helpless human, not a bloodthirsty demon. He chuckled but stopped as a thought slid into his mind. Why was Bill here? Dipper grimaced and knelt down. He searched for pockets in Bill's clothing, looking in each one for the pin. By the time Ford ran out of the gift shop, nearly hitting both the demon and the twin in the process, Dipper's hands were almost completely covered in gross demon blood. 

He stood up quickly, eyes wide. "There's no pin!" He ran a hand through his hair, instantly regretting doing so when his hand got stuck. "Where's the pin!?"

"Wait what?" Ford stood tall next to the demon, hands on hips. He looked confused, grumpy and tired. Dipper wondered if Mabel had woken him up from one of his important naps.

"If Bill doesn't have the pin on him, someone else must have it" Dipper had started to panic. What if another demon got it...

"We're not safe yet" Ford grit his teeth, grabbing Bill by his bandaged arms and pulling him into the shack. He lay Bill down in the bath, looking him over. 

"Dipper, clean him up?" 

"What!?" Dippers face turned bright red. 

"Y'know, clean his wounds and stuff"

Dipper nodded, still red. 

"If he wakes up, call me" Ford smirked and walked out of the room. 

Mabel had also left, probably to call Pacifica and update her and the situation. She was a smart girl, maybe she could help with this. Maybe not. 

Dipper turned back to Bill, deciding to work on the wounds on his arms and torso. Hesitating for a second, he carefully slipped off his shirt. By now, Dipper was very, very red. He was happy that no one was around to tease him. Grabbing the first aid kit placed on a shelf above the sink, he got to work. 

Around twenty minutes later, he was clean. Dipper cleaned all the mud and blood on his chest, arms and face and Bill looked almost like his normal self. Except he was still passed out in the bathtub. But, he was alive! Dipper made sure to regularly check his pulse. 

The brunette gazed at Bill's torn trousers. Deciding not to remove them, he pulled what was left of the legs up. Bills legs weren't as bad as the rest of him, thankfully. There was a large cut on his left one, spanning from his ankle to what Dipper guessed was his upper thigh. He didn't know since there was only a certain place you could pull up the trouser leg without it getting awkward. Dipper began to clean the wound before wrapping it up in a fresh bandage. 

Bills blue eye opened slowly. He began to sit up but Dipper pushed him back down, securing the bandage and cleaning the dirt off his other leg. 

"Pine tree?"

"Bill" Dipper didn't know what to say. He was mad. 

"Why are you helping me?" Bill could sense his anger. 

Dipper grunted and looked up at the demon "it was Mabel's idea to help you, thank her".

"Cool, I will" he sat up and winced. 

Dippers cheeks turned bright red again, realising the demon was shirtless. He looked away. 

"What happened?" Dipper asked quietly. 

Bill shrugged.

"What. Happened" Dipper said, loosing his patience. 

"Tad took the pin" Bill said plainly.

"Who?" 

"Tad strange. He overpowered me". 

∆ ∆ ∆

Pacifica had, when she received the text explaining Mabel's current situation, freaked out. She was now running, no, sprinting to the shack. She was angry. Bill didn't deserve Mabel's kindness, he deserved to die. After how badly he had damaged her family. She kicked the door open, slightly surprised it had been unlocked and stormed to the bathroom. Bill cipher was laying in the bathtub, shirtless and covered in crisp bandages. 

"You" Pacifica growled, pointing at the demon.

Dipper let out a little gasp and shuffled to the side so the blonde could get to the demon. She walked up, raising her fist. 

"You're so lucky that these people have helped you" she stood tall "because I would've let you die" Pacifica chuckled slightly "I would've put you out of your misery" she raised her fist higher. Then, brought it down hard. 

It hit Bill square in the jaw and he fell back, hitting his head on the side of the tub and passing out. A trail of blood came from his nose. Pacifica smiled.


	31. Chapter 31

Bill cipher woke up. He blinked a couple of times and looked up to see Dipper standing over him. The brunette was crouched slightly, holding something to the demons nose. It felt soft, and harmless so he decided to ignore it. 

"Oh! You're awake" a smile grew of the young Pines freckled face which made Bill remember why he had come back. "Pacifica knocked you out for like, an hour! I honestly thought you had died" he chuckled to himself. 

Bill frowned and quickly got up to prove Dipper wrong. "I'm fine" he rubbed his sore nose, wincing at the pain. 

"Yeah, she might've broken you nose" Dipper guided Bill into a sitting position, still in the tub, and held a fresh tissue to his nose once again. 

Bill breathed out through his nose, instantly regretting decision when he felt hot, sticky blood dribble out. He sighed and took the tissue from the brunette. 

"Don't do that Bill, that's gross" Dipper stuck out his tongue to emphasise.

"Fine, fine. Can we move to somewhere more..." He looked down at the tub them back at Dipper "comfortable".

Dipper nodded and helped the demon out. They walked together to his room, Dipper holding his arm as support. Bill was limping, the wound on his leg stinging every time he put pressure on it. He decided to ignore the pain, instead focusing on the way Dipper was holding him. It was almost lovingly. 

"Why was I even in that strange box thing?" Bill asked, sitting down on Dipper's bed and making himself comfortable in his blankets.

"Its called a bathroom, its where humans go to clean themselves" Dipper blushed slightly, handing the blonde a shirt "you'll need to learn how to use it if you're gonna be staying with us". 

Bill slipped on the shirt before looking up at Dipper with wide, hopeful blue eyes. "Staying?" 

Dipper nodded and shrugged "I guess... Ford said you could help us" he explained. 

"With....what?" 

Dipper ran a hand down his face and sighed loudly. He sat himself next to Bill "with Tad". 

"Ooooh" Bill nodded "yeah sure. I guess this world is worth protecting". 

Dipper frowned, placing a hand on Bill's face. Bill blushed lightly, his heart beating faster as Dipper moved his hand up to his forehead. Bill turned away slightly, hoping that the brunette would ignore the fact that such a simple gesture had flustered the demon. 

"You look really pale" Dipper said, still oblivious of the blushing demon beside him "do you need to eat something? We have pizza". 

"Uhh" Bill hesitated. Pizza? That sounded pretty good right about now. His stomach made a loud groaning noise and Bill looked up at Dipper, a small smirk on his face. 

"I'm guessing that means yes" and without waiting for a reply, he stood up and left the room. 

Bill groaned and lay down on Dipper's bed. The blankets wrapped around him smelt of Dipper and it made him feel warm inside. In fact, just staying in this old house brought back almost fond memories. He was almost in a relationship with Ford. Could he really call it a relationship though? A friendship? 

Dipper burst back into the room, holding two plates stacked high with pizza slices. Bill sat up and unwrapped himself from the tangled mess of blankets he had encased himself in and took the plate. He took the first slice and stared at it. It was a simple cheese and tomato pizza slice. He took a bite, savouring the flavour before swallowing. Bill hummed happily and tucked into his plate. 

Dipper laughed, a slice of his own pizza in one hand and the plate in the other "I've never seen you so enthusiastic about eating". 

Bill chewed thoughtfully before swallowing his mouthful and getting ready to grab another slice "I guess I'm just really hungry". 

"Do demons need to eat?" Dipper asked, eyeing Bill suspiciously. 

Bill stopped eating, his eyes growing wide "no, I don't think so" Bill put down the slice in his hand and placed the plate on the bed. "When I've tried to eat food in the past, it wouldn't digest, it just like, vanished?" He leant back on Dipper's stack of pillows "I think something's happening to me.."

Dipper took a bite out of his slice "are you scared" he asked, mouth still full.

Bill blinked. "Yeah".

∆ ∆ ∆

Mabel pines paced around her room, arms folded across her chest. Pacifica was sitting on her bed, fidgeting slightly. She was angry but Mabel wasn't entirely sure why. She knew it was because of Bill and that was all. Mabel didn't want to question Pacifica about it either, she had seen the damage she'd done to Bill by just one punch and she didn't want that happening to her. 

"You OK, Paz?" This, Mabel thought, was an acceptable thing to say. She was worried about her girlfriend. 

"Mmhm" She hummed, placing her hands on her lap and playing with her fingers. 

She was avoiding eye contact. Mabel sighed and sat next to her. She pulled to blonde closer and placed a kiss on the others lips, which Pacifica grateful accepted. This seemed to calm her down. Pacifica wrapped her arms around Mabel's shoulders, pulling her even closer. If that was even physically possible. 

The two stayed like that for a couple of minutes, just hugging and occasionally pecking each other on the cheek or lips. Pacifica had stopped shaking with rage, she was calm in Mabel's arms. Before the brunette knew it, the blonde had closed her eyes and was now breathing quietly into her shoulder. Mabel smiled and carefully lay down on her bed, Pacifica still laying on top of her. The blonde was surprisingly light. Mabel closed her eyes, sighing happily.


	32. Chapter 32

Tad Strange spun around on his chair, grinning. He held the pin, his pin, out in his hand. It looked like the right one. Good. He stood up, stretched, then put the pin into his jacket pocket. 

"It's time" he said to himself, throwing open the large door and striding down the almost pitch black hallway. 

He stopped at the next door, adjusting his suit a bit before pulling it open, this time, more carefully. The purple eyed demon backed away from the door, raising his eyebrow. 

"Where's cipher?" He asked, his voice was shaky. Of course, he was only a guard, a lower classed demon. 

Tad pulled out the pin, waving it and laughing, "I've dealt with him" he looked down at the smaller demon. He was shivering.

"What are you going to do now, sir?"

Tad laughed harder "I'm going to do what Bill couldn't do" he looked down at the pin, his eyes glowing bright blue. "Destroy earth". 

∆ ∆ ∆

Bill cipher awoke, once again, to the bright light shining through Dipper's window. He was still a little sore but the younger twin had taken good care of him. Bill fidgeted a bit, realising he wasn't on his makeshift mattress bed. He was on Dipper's... And worse still, someone was hugging him from behind. Bill tried to detach himself but Dipper held on tighter, grunting and burying his face into Bill's back. 

"Pine tree" Bill sighed and carefully placed his hands on Dipper's arms, he pulled them apart with surprising strength and rolled out of the bed. 

He landed on the floor with a soft thud. Getting up, he decided to let Dipper sleep. He deserved it. Bill opened the door and Shut it quietly behind him. 

"OK" he clapped his hands together and looked towards the kitchen "I could get food but... I don't know how to cook". 

He looked up towards the stairs, hearing quiet music playing from supposedly Mabel's room. It sounded pretty familiar, maybe she'd played this song before? Bill decided to check it out. He made his way up the stairs, stepping over the one that creaked and finally reached the top. He had short legs so stepping over things was always a challenge. 

Bill walked in but stopped as he saw Mabel and Pacific's sitting on her bed. They were both leaning in but retracted when Bill walked in and both where blushing furiously. Pacifica looked mad and Mabel had a blank expression on her face. Like she'd been through this before. 

"Hey Bill" Mabel greeted awkwardly, turning from Pacifica and placing a small hand on the blondes. "You feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you" Bill smiled a genuine smile "for helping me" he rubbed the bruise on his cheek and glanced at the blonde. 

"No prob Bob" 

"Its Bill..." 

"Yeah.." Mabel stood up, even more awkward than before. 

Pacifica stayed on the bed, wrapping herself up in a thick purple blanket covered in glitter and turning away from the two. 

"So.. Do you need anything?" Mabel asked, trying to be kind but she did want Bill to leave her room as soon as possible. 

"Yeah.. I'm kinda hungry"

Mabel frowned and slapped her forehead "really, that's it? There's food it the fridge". 

"I don't know how to cook!" Bill argued. 

"You don't need to cook! Just make yourself some cereal" Mabel sighed, a long, tired sigh. 

"I don't know how" Bill answered quietly. 

"Ask Dipper, I'm busy" maybe made her way back to Pacifica. 

"He's asleep" Bill backed out of the oom, standing by the door.

"I don't care, wake him" Mabel was loosing patience. 

Bill guessed it was too early for stuff like this... Or she just wanted to make out with Pacifica. It was probably the latter. 

The demon went back downstairs and into Dipper's room. The brunette was still asleep, hidden under a pile of old blankets. He looked so peaceful, Bill didn't really want to wake him. But he was hungry. 

"Pine tree" Bill knelt down beside the bed and poked Dipper's shoulder. 

Dipper grunted and shuffled in his sleep. 

Bill poked him again "pine tree!" 

Dipper stayed still, breathing in sharply and turning around. He was still asleep. This left Bill no choice. He backed towards the door and took a running start and jumped, landing square on Dipper. Dipper shot up, screeching. 

"Bill what the heck!?" Dipper clutched his sides, wincing. 

Bill rolled off Dipper onto the bed, smirking. He looked up with wide blue eyes. 

"I'm hungry" 

Dipper threw his hands up in the air and stood up, letting the blankets fall. Grumbling, he walked to the kitchen, Bill following him like an obedient dog. Dipper grabbed the box of cereal, a bowl and some milk. Bill stood next to him, observing. He looked up for a second and stopped. 

"Dipper!" Bill tapped his shoulder. 

Dipper was surprised Bill hadn't used that dumb nickname but the urgency in his voice caused him to turn to the window. The sky was turning a blood red colour, a bright blue tear, a portal of some sort, reached from one side of gravity falls to the other. Bill was frozen to the spot and visibly shaking.

"Are you okay? What's happening?" Dipper dropped the box of cereal and poked Bill. 

"Its the end of the world" Bill said, his voice cracking. 

"I need to get Ford!" The brunette dashed out of the room, leaving Bill.

The demon took a handful of cereal and stuffed it into his mouth as he watched the blue tear grow. Things were coming out of it, possibly other demons. One blue figure caught his eye. 

"Tad" Bill frowned, slowly chewing his mouthful of cereal.

Bill heard footsteps behind him but didn't turn around. He heard urgent voices calling his name but didn't respond. He felt hands grabbing his arms in an attempt to pull him from the window. Bill let out a sharp sob. 

"This is all my fault"


	33. Chapter 33

Standford Pines stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching Bill, the demon who had almost killed several members of his family multiple times, break down crying on the floor. Bill was on his knees, facing the floor, visible tears streaming down his cheeks. Ford almost felt sorry for him, but he had bigger issues to deal with at the moment. He had sent Dipper up to the attic to get Mabel and Pacifica and Stan to his lab to get some equipment. 

"Its all my fault" Bill hiccupped and look up to Ford. "He took the pin". 

Ford sighed and held out a had for the demon. He accepted and was pulled up. They stood in silence for a couple of minutes, staring out the window and listening to the urgent footsteps of the pines twins drawing closer. Dipper and Mabel burst into the kitchen, already out of breath. 

"What's happening? Why is the sky red?" Dipper said between sharp breaths. 

Pacifica emerged into the room, cheeks slightly red. She glanced out the window then back to Bill, narrowing her emerald eyes. Bill shrugged, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. 

"The Apocalypse" Ford replied after a moment of silence. 

Dipper froze, his eyes growing wide. He ran towards the window, leaning over the counter to look closer. The room was silent, the only sound was the faint screams of innocent people being...well no one knew yet but they were sure it wasn't good. Dipper turned back to the others.

"Get the unicorn hair, we're protecting the shack" he motioned for Ford to grab the items.

Ford nodded and strode out of the room. 

"What about Bill?" Mabel asked. 

"He'll stay inside" Dipper glanced at Bill, smiling slightly "if it works, he won't be able to get out. He'll be safe". 

Bill sighed, relieved that Dipper cared about him enough to spare him. Tad was probably looking for him right now. 

"Why don't we just kick him out?" Pacifica suggested with a small shrug "its his fault this happened in the first place". 

"As nice as that sounds right now, I think Bill will be helpful" Dipper replied. 

"For what?" 

Dipper spun around to face the demon. Bill had never seen Dipper look this serious before. Something was up. 

"You know how to sort this, right?" 

Bill honestly didn't know. He was planning to do the exact same thing Tad was doing. 

"Bill?" Dipper raised an eyebrow. 

Bill panicked, knowing that Dipper would probably kick him out if he knew the truth, so he did the next best thing. He lied. 

"Yeah....but we need Ford".

The Stan twins arrived back in the room together, Stan an armful of cool looking guns and Ford a fistful of rainbow hair. They both exchanged glances before nodding. Stan dropped the guns and walked away, possibly to go outside and set things up. Ford ushered the group away from the window and into the living room. He sat in Stans armchair and placed his hands together. 

"Okay, I have a plan but it might not work" he said, his voice quiet, almost a whisper. 

"That's reassuring" Pacifica rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.  

Mabel elbowed her in the ribs, putting a finger to her lips then nodding to Ford. 

"But we need to find some other people" he took out Dipper's journal and flipped through it until he went to the page Dipper knew all too well. "This is the cipher wheel" he pointed to the wheel in the middle of the page. 

Bills eyes lit up "yeah! That could work". 

"These symbols represent a person. Mabel, your the shooting star, Dipper's the pine tree, Stanley's the...what is that? The moon thing? I'm the six fingered hand and Pacifica's the llama" he looked back up at the group "I don't know who the rest are". 

"Wait, why am I the llama?" 

"Just wait and see" Bill smirked. 

"Any ideas?" Ford said, ignoring the glares between Bill and Pacifica. 

"That looks like the star on Gideons tent" Dipper pointed to the star at the bottom. 

"Is Gideon still here?" Mabel asked, frowning slightly.

Ford nodded "unfortunately, yes" he sighed "we have to find him as soon as we figure out the rest".

"The question mark is Soos" 

"The glasses must be McGucket" 

"McGucket?" Ford chuckled. 

"Yeah! And the heart? That's probably Robbie" Mabel suggested. "Its on his hoodie". 

"The ice bag?" Ford asked. 

"I'm gonna guess its Wendy" 

"I hope your right" Ford stood up, snapping the journal shut. "Okay, let's split up and find the others, they shouldn't be too far". 

Everyone nodded in unison and stepped outside. Stan was tying the last pieces of hair together as they came out. 

"Stan, can you guard the shack for us?"

"Sure" he smiled and patted the old building, almost lovingly. 

"Oh wait" Ford ran back inside and retrieved the guns, giving one to each person, and settling on a large silver one for himself. He held his up and grinned awkwardly, trying to contain his excitement. "For self defence". 

Everyone exchanged notes, saying who was getting who and then went on their way. Ford was getting McGucket, of course. Dipper had informed him that he lived in the middle of the dump and was slowly loosing his mind. Ford had shrugged it off, just excited to see his old friend. How long had it been? 30 years? 

He arrived at the dump. Garbage was strewn everywhere and some wired looking creatures were walking around. Ford aimed his gun, shooting one with a bright blue light. It screeched and fell to the floor, sizzling up and crumbling into the dirt. 

Ford stepped into the dump. "Fiddleford?"

A figure stepped out of the shadows.


	34. Chapter 34

Stanford Pines froze, wanting to say something but a lump had formed in his throat. To be honest, he thought Fiddleford had died, or at least moved away from Gravity Falls after all the traumatic stuff that had happened. But no. Still alive. Still here. He was shorter than Ford remembered, sporting a long white beard that brushed the ground as he stepped closer. He wore a large hat, covered in patches and dungarees the same colour. Thick goggles covered his eyes, the green glass glowing slightly in the bright light of the apocalypse. 

Fiddleford looked strangely calm about the whole ordeal. He was holding a blowtorch in one hand and a scrap of metal in the other.

"Fiddleford?" Ford had to make sure this was the right person, bringing the wrong one could result in a very painful death for him and his family. 

"Yes?" He replied, giving Ford a toothy grin before turning to walk back into what looked like a homemade house. 

He lived here? Gross. 

"Uh... I need your help" Ford followed him inside, trying to ignore the foul smell that made him want to throw up. 

"With what, stranger?" 

Fords heart dropped. Stranger? 

"No, no! Its me, Stanford Pines" Ford stepped in front of the other man. 

"Stanford Pines died years ago" Fiddleford replied, a lot more serious and quiet than he was before. 

"No, I'm here" Ford stated as he watched his old friend pull a mask over his face and start melding scraps of metal together and placing them onto what looked like a spaceship? "Stanley helped me, he rebuilt the portal!"

"What!?" Fiddleford turned around, looking angry and confused "the portals back up? Accessible?"

Ford took a step back, worried that his old friend would fry him with the blowtorch. Better safe than sorry. 

"Once again, no" Ford stopped backing away to look Fiddleford in the eyes "it broke when I came out".

Ford blinked and shook his head, annoyed that he had gotten distracted and forgotten his mission. He placed his hand on Fiddleford's shoulder. Fiddleford looked down, staring at his fingers.

"Six fingers?" He said, mostly to himself. He looked back up, his eyes shining. 

"Okay good, now we've got that all sorted, we really need to get to the shack!" 

Fiddleford nodded, a determined look on his face as he grabbed some metal things Ford didn't recognise and followed him out of the dump. 

They arrived back at the shack minutes later and noticed Stan sitting on the steps leading up to the gift shop, humming to himself, eyes closed, concentrated . He opened his eyes at the sound of footsteps, following the two men with his blue eyes as they stepped into the bubble. 

"Hello" Stan and Fiddleford had never really gotten along, even before... The portal incident. 

Fiddleford nodded and went into the shack with Ford, probably to catch up on the thirty years they'd been apart. Stan sighed and sat back down, cradling his head in his hand. 

∆ ∆ ∆

Mabel Pines took in a deep breath before stepping forward into the tent of telepathy, which was surprisingly still popular with the locals, even after all these years. She made her way towards the front and onto the stage. She knew Gideon was probably backstage, she'd seen the board with the performance times when she walked in. It was nearly showtime. 

"Gideon?" Mabel pushed the curtain away and knocked on a small door with a golden star in the middle. Your typical changing room. 

"Who is it?" He sung back, his voice muffled by the door. He sounded older, his voice was less squeaky and annoying than Mabel remembered. 

"Uh..." Mabel hesitated, considering just leaving. Why had she agreed to get Gideon again? "Mabel Pines". 

There was an awkward silence and some shuffling from the other side of the door before she heard the click of locks being undone. The door swing open, revealing a taller, but still as baby faced and chubby as he was four years ago, gideon gleeful. 

They stood there for a couple of seconds, Gideon's greedy eyes scanning her up and down. 

"Gideon, I have a girlfriend" Mabel huffed. 

"Girlfriend?" Gideon raised an eyebrow, well she supposed he had. They were as white as his hair and not very visible. "Who's the lucky lady?" 

"Pacifica" 

Gideon snorted, choking on air for a second before standing straight once again "really? She's waaay out of your league. She's rich, you're poor" he held up both his hands "plus she's really grumpy-"

Mabel cut him off "no she's not! She's really nice once you get to know her!" 

"Whatever"

"Anyways, I'm here because I need your help" Mabel said, rubbing the back of her neck. 

Gideon's eyes lit up mischievously and he opened his mouth to say something but Mabel interrupted him.

"No! No" she was getting impatient, she needed to hurry up "no deals, do you want to die!?" 

"What?" 

Mabel sighed and grabbed his sleeve, dragging him from the tent and outside. She pointed towards the tear in the sky and the screaming people. 

"Oh" Gideon said quietly. 

The brunette started walking again, she still had a firm grip on Gideons sleeve. They made it safely back to the shack, only running into one seemingly harmless monster that got kicked out of the way by Mabel. Stan was waiting, he looked sad. 

"Grunkle stan!" Mabel waved and he smiled. 

Gideon went into the shack to wait for the others whilst Mabel sat next to Stan, a worried look on her face. 

"You okay?" 

Stan shrugged "I feel worthless. You guys just left me here". 

"You volunteered to stay"

"Yeah, but..." He sighed, wiping his tired eyes and licking his dry lips.

"Honesty, I think you just need time to chill out" Mabel rubbed circles into his back, calming the old man. She went on "Y'know, because of the portal thing" Stan flinched. "And now your brother's back and everything's happy, I just want you to be happy". 

"Thanks" 

"And I know you're stressed out about the whole thing so I figured if you stayed here you could relax, maybe get some sleep". 

Stan nodded, understanding. 

"Okay but seriously, get some sleep old man" Mabel pat his back and helped him up. 

Stan laughed and nodded once again, slowly walking to his room. Mabel sat down, taking his position as guard of the mystery shack.


	35. Chapter 35

Dipper Pines hesitated, his hand held in front of the wooden door of Wendy's house. Of course, she'd moved out of her dads house and into a small apartment near the edge of town. He had walked up about three flights of stairs to get there. Trying to hide the fact that he was wheezing, he knocked on the door. As his hand touched it, it gave way, creaking open. Dipper stepped into the room. It was a mess, furniture turned upside down, pillows thrown across the room and papers scattered everywhere. 

Dipper walked in further, trying not to panic. Her window was smashed and there was blood underneath it, staining the beige carpet slightly pink. Dippers heart sunk and he ran towards the window, leaning out of it careful not to cut himself on the sharp glass. Outside was another pool of blood, still fresh by the looks of it. Dipper's heart skipped a beat, it looked as if there was break in, or worse, a monster had taken her...

Running as fast as his legs could carry him in his already tired state, he made his way outside and to the pool of blood. He crouched down to inspect it closer, narrowing his eyes to focus on the small pieces of glass in it. There was something else, Dipper couldn't quite make it out. He decided to ignore it, instead standing up and spotting a small trail of blood leading into the woods. Dipper reluctantly followed, deciding it was safer than going back to the shack without Wendy and facing the wrath of Stanford Pines, he could be scary when we wanted to, he was tall and had six fingers, and the fact that he had a metal plate in his head still made Dipper shudder. 

He followed the blood trail until it stopped beside a large tree. The tree was also covered in blood, it looked as if the victim had climbed up it. Dipper looked up, disappointed when he saw no red hair peeking from behind the leaves. Nothing. He'd have to keep moving. The brunette glanced around, trying to look for any signs of human contact. He noticed footprints heading west, deeper into the woods and decided to follow them. They looked like boot prints. 

Once again, he set off, more slowly and cautiously than before. He kept his eyes straight ahead, only glancing to the sides when he heard a noise. He had no weapons, he was useless on his own. As he walked on, he saw a large clearing he had never seen before. Which was strange as he could've sworn he knew the woods like the back of his hand. He stopped walking and bent behind a bush, peering through the leaves. 

There was a fire burning, high and bright, smoke flowing into the sky and disappearing into the trees. On top of the fire was a stick with what looked like a fish tied onto it. The stick was held up by two large stones and accompanied by a log that looked like a bench. There was also a sleeping bag, a dark blue one that looked slightly torn but still useable. All this and still no Wendy. Dipper sighed and stood up from his hiding place, giving up on his search. 

Something cold touched the back of his neck. He started panicking, instantly tensing his muscles and standing straight. It felt like a weapon, possibly a knife or a gun. Well, he had been intruding. But at least he had an excuse. 

"Turn around" it was a female voice, familiar yet not quite. It was quite deep, deeper than he remembered. 

He felt the pressure on his neck go away and he slowly turned around until he was face to face with his captor. 

"Dipper!?" The redhead smiled and pulled the smaller boy into a deep hug. 

Once they pulled back, Dipper scanned Wendy, looking for the injury that has caused her to loose so much blood. Now that he thought about it, she did look a lot paler than usual. She was dressed in a white tank top, her usual green flannel tied around her arm as a bandage. The was a large rip in her top at the bottom, stained pink with blood. 

"Are you OK?" Dipper asked, worried whether or not his old friend had enough strength to head back to the shack. 

Wendy nodded but Dipper wasn't sure he believed her. He followed her into the camp, sitting on the log while she turned the stick with the fish on. 

She frowned "its kinda burnt... I was gone for too long" she took out a bottle of water and chugged in down, before passing it to Dipper. 

Dipper took it politely and took small sips. "So, what are doing out here in the woods?" The question had been in his head for a while now. 

Wendy shrugged, eyes never leaving the fire "well as you can see" she gestured up towards the sky "its the apocalypse, Bill's back! I got attacked by a weird eye bat hybrid creature and my only escape was my window. Before I jumped I managed to grab a sleeping bag and some supplies and I've been here ever since". 

It had only been a couple of hours, half a day at the most but already her life has been turned to hell. 

"Oh, this wasn't Bill, he's with us" Dipper blurted "apparently there's this other demon called Tad or something who's got the pin now". 

"OK, not sure if I believe you, but whatever" she gave Dipper a warm smile, massaging her wounded arm as she goes on "so, what brings you here, to my humble abode?"

"We need your help" Dipper said quickly "it's urgent, this could mean saving the town or killing everyone slowly and painfully" Dipper may have been exaggerating but it got the message across to wendy. She nodded. Dipper ushered her towards the shack. 

They were running out of time....


	36. Chapter 36

Dipper Pines had arrived back at the shack just in time to spot Pacifica walking Soos inside, scowling slightly. He stepped inside the living room where everyone was crowded around Ford. He held out all three journals, pointing to the cipher wheel then to individual people. 

"Dipper you're back!" Ford grinned and stood up, journal 3 falling off his knees. It fell open on the floor. 

"Yup" Dipper stepped aside and pushed Wendy toward. 

Ford nodded, his grin growing wider. He clapped his hands together and looked around the room. His smile faded after scanning over the group. 

"Where's Bill?" He asked slowly. 

Everyone muttered to each other, looking around with wide eyes. Maybe he had wandered to the kitchen? Or outside. Dipper took off in the direction of his room, searching everywhere for any traces of Bill. Nothing. 

"He's not here" he said when he arrived back to the living room "if he went, he would've left a note or something at least".

Ford ran a hand down his face. "We need to find him" he looked like he was about to explode. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he ran both is hands through his grey hair. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat "we can't do this without him". 

Everyone groaned, too scared to go back outside but also too lazy to get Bill. Dipper stepped forward, of course, volunteering. Mabel was by his side a second later, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and pulling him closer. He chuckled, holding onto her arm, trying to keep steady. Both twins turned to Pacifica, who was was fidgeting in the corner. 

Pacifica looked up at them but turned her head, avoiding eye contact. 

"Paz" Mabel murmured. 

Pacifica's head shot up. Sighing loudly, she stepped forward. The twins cheered, Mabel pulling her into the awkward hug. Ford smiled and passed them weapons, three of those weird future looking guns and some food and water, just in case this took longer then need be.

They all set out, walking into town in hopes of finding any traces of where Bill went. 

∆ ∆ ∆

Bill cipher spat out a tooth. It fell onto the tile floor with a small clank. Bill looked up, growling. He was chained to a wall. But these weren't normal chains, they were glowing bright blue, covered in demon magic. They dug into his wrists, making them ache slightly. He was slouching, weak from all the punches, magical punches, thrown at him. He deserved this. He was a traitor. 

Tad was standing in front of him, fist raised once again. His knuckles were covered in blood, Bill's blood. A wild grin was spread from ear to ear. There was no sign of him stopping. 

"Tell me what you know about the Pines family, I know they have something to do with... With this" he gestured to Bill before turning and muttering "traitor" under his breath. 

"No" Bill replied, ignoring his sting in nose from the punch he had received mere seconds ago. His nose was bleeding badly, he could feel the hot sticky blood. It was probably broken...

"What about that Pines boy... What's his name? Dipper?" Tad clicked his fingers, showing a hologram of him running towards town with two figures behind him. He clenched his hand into a fist and the picture faded away. "He's coming to get you, you know".

Bill started panicking. "D-dont hurt him" he said before choking on a wave of blood coming up his throat. He felt sick. He wanted to die. The blood dribbled out of his mouth and down his chin. He coughed and tried to breath in but more kept coming. 

"Why not?" Tad asked, raising his eyebrow curiously. Like he knew the answer. 

"Ilovehim" Bill answered quickly, it was quiet, it came out barely above a whisper. He didn't Want Tad knowing. 

"What?"

Bill growled again, looking up to glare at the other demon, his eyes slits. 

Tad laughed and slammed his fist into Bill's face once again. It hit him on his cheek, directly onto the bruise Pacifica had given him a few days prior. He grunted but kept his mouth shut, mostly out of embarrassment. His cheeks were growing a little red. Tad raised booth of his fists and brought them down, one hitting his nose and the other his jaw. He started kicking the smaller demon in the ribs, grinning when he heard snapping. Bill gritted his teth, closing his eyes and accepting the pain. 

"So" Tad said when he had stopped. His was covered in Bill's blood. Somehow, it had gotten onto his face and suit.

Bill didn't want to look down at his torso. He knew he was done for. He glared daggers at the other demon, suddenly gaining the energy and confidence to speak.

"Because. I. Love. Him." He said between sharp, painful breaths.

Tads eyes widened and so did his grin. He threw back his head and laughed, wiping away a tear and walking up to Bill. 

"Pathetic" he spat.

Bill hummed, too tired to speak. He could feel his eyes closing. This was it, he was going to die. Could demons even die? Not even he knew that. He slumped forward, his vision growing dark. The last thing he heard with laughter. 

∆ ∆ ∆

Dipper pines stopped running, waiting for the other two to catch up. He had ran ahead, extremely worried about his crushes safety. Not that he would admit it to his sister. The two arrived seconds later, hand in hand and panting.

"Will you slow down bro bro?" Mabel asked, wiping sweat from her forehead. 

Dipper spun around on his heel to face his sister. He wanted to yell at her, scold her. But he didn't, only pointing to a massive floating triangle into the sky. It was a dark purple, almost black and made of what looked like stone? Obsidian? Something.

"He's up there" he said plainly. 

Mabel looked up to where he was pointing, her eyes growing wider. "That's so cool!" 

"How are we going to get up there though" Pacifica pointed out. 

Dipper frowned. He hadn't thought that far yet...


	37. Chapter 37

Stanford Pines ushered everyone into a room in the shack that even Stanley, the man who had lived here for over 30 years, didn't know about. It was a dull room, white wallpaper with no pattern and a strangely clean wooden floor. Nobody questioned it though. 

There was nothing else in the room, which was surprising because it was very large. There was a piece of chalk in the corner, the only dusty thing in the strange room. Ford picked it up and motioned for Stan to grab journal 3. His twin nodded and left the room, seconds later, coming back with the thick book in his hands. Ford nodded his thanks and flipped to the right page, twirling the chalk in his fingers. He finally found the page and set it down in one corner. He then started to draw on the floor, a careful circle. 

It was surprisingly clean, normally circles were wobbly when people drew them unless they used a compass but Ford had experience. He drew the perfect circle, taking up practically the whole room. He glanced back at the journal before drawing another, smaller circle in the middle of the larger one. Then, proceeded to draw Bill. He stood up from his crouching position on the floor, turning to the group standing by the doorway, all gazing curiously at him. 

"This is where Bill will stand, his magic will power the wheel" he explained, pointing the chalk at the drawing. He added the bowtie then stepped left, beginning to draw sectors inside the circle. 

In the first sector had a shooting star symbol. Mabel's. And next to that, the heart. Everyone turned to Robbie, staring at his hoodie. A little spooked, he stepped back into the other room and made the excuse that he was thirsty. Ford dismissed him and drew out Mcgucket's glasses. 

By the time he had finished, Robbie had come back with a tall glass of orange juice. Ford could've sworn they hadn't bought orange juice lately but was too busy to question it. He guided everyone to their spots on the wheel before going to his own. The six fingered hand. 

"Now what?" Called a voice to his right. Wendy was standing by the Icebag, shuffling her feet. She looked bored already. 

"We wait" Ford said plainly, making a couple of people groan. "Don't worry, the others will come back soon". In the back of Ford's mind, he doubted they would. Whoever this other demon was, he was very, if not more, powerful than Bill had ever been.

∆ ∆ ∆

Dipper Pines stood below the strange triangular temple, trying to find a doorway. Mabel was standing a couple of metres to his left, observing the strange carvings on the stones. Pacifica was with her, they were still holding hands. Dipper wasn't surprised. 

The younger twin flinched as he heard a noise coming from behind him. He turned around and raised the gun, charging it up so it would fire a bolt of electricity at whoever was there. It wasn't a monster. Dipper sighed as relief flooded over him, he was grateful to not have run into any monsters during his trip into town. But there was nothing there. 

Dipper shrugged it off, turning back around and failing to notice the dark blue figure flying up towards the temple. It opened up, a small door that revealed what looked like a glowing orange room. Then, it closed just as quickly as it had appeared. 

∆ ∆ ∆

Tad Strange heard a door open but didn't turn around. He was still facing Bill, who had passed out, still chained to the wall. He was bleeding pretty badly, it didn't seem to want to stop but Tad didn't care. 

"Sir" the small blue monster, a floating eye with batwings protruding from its sides, said in a whisper. "They're here". 

Only now did Tad spin around, he grabbed the monster and pulled it closer to his face, grinning and laughing. The monster, unsure of what to do, laughed uncertainly with him. Tad dropped the monster, walking over to his throne, made out of the townsfolk of gravity falls, and pulled a lever. A pad with buttons floated up and he scanned over them before finding the one he wanted. The big red one, of course. 

He slammed his hand down onto it and a loud scraping sound echoed throughout the room. A door was being opened for the Pines to come in. Tad rubbed his hands together and placed the pin on the throne. This was going to be fun. He walked over to Bill and clicked his fingers...

∆ ∆ ∆

Dipper pines called over his sister and Pacifica, pointing to a slot of light coming from the temple. It grew and suddenly there was a staircase slowly making its way down to them. Dipper hesitated. Was this all planned by Tad? 

Before he could say anything, he was pushed slightly. His foot touched the bottom step and his heartbeat quickened. Dipper started walking up the stairs towards the temple, slow at first but then gaining speed. His heart felt as if it was going to explode when he reached the top, panting. He turned to see the others, climbing more slowly, cautiously. He helped Mabel up before reaching out a hand for Pacifica. She accepted and was pulled up from the last step. 

They were in a room, it was the same dark purple colour as before but now it had little glowing orange lights on the walls, illuminating it in a warm glow. Dipper spotted a passageway, leading to another room. Curious, he walked towards it. He peeked through and almost screamed when he saw Bill. His heartbeat quickened once again, but this time out of fear. Bill was chained to the far wall, blood covered his body, like when Mabel had found him in the woods. His eyes were closed but Dipper could make out the faint rising and falling of his chest and breathed out a sigh of relief.

A hand touched is shoulder from behind him, making him jump. The hand squeezed his shoulder and he turned to see Mabel staring at him. Her eyes were warm, a small smile on her face. For some reason, this reassured him. 

"Hello Dipper" 

Dipper turned back around, finding himself face to face with none other than Tad Strange.


	38. Chapter 38

Dipper Pines took a step back, into Mabel's arms who pulled him into a tight, defensive hug. She glared daggers at the demon and he could've sworn he saw Tad looking...scared? He hoped it was, Mabel could totally beat him up if she wanted to. 

Mabel let go, pushing her way in front of her twin. She stood tall. Well, as tall as she could as a 5'4 human being standing next to a six.. Maybe seven foot demon. 

A small groan echoed through the room and everyone turned to its supposed source. Bill was awake, though it did look like his eyes were being forced open by magic. Dipper ignored that, running over and cupping Bill's small face in his hands. Tears rolled down his cheeks. 

"You're okay!" Dipper smiled as he silently wept. He wanted to kiss the demon, but Bill was in no shape to do so. He looked like he was missing teeth. Instead, he settled for kissing his own hand and resting it on Bill's charred lips. Bill gave him a small smile.

Mabel cooed and whistled but Dipper ignored it. Tad was impatiently tapping his foot on the stone floor, looking it his wrist as if there was a watch on it. He snapped his head up and pulled Dipper closer with his magic. Dipper yelped as he felt himself being dragged away from Bill.

"Look kid, I only let you in so I could kill you slowly in front of your boyfriend" Tad cracked his fingers, one at a time, making Dipper cringe. 

"H-hes not my boyfriend" Dipper's cheeks grew red. Mabel snorted behind him. He turned to face his sister "nows not the time, Mabel".

"Well, it seems you two are..." Tad paused searching for the right word "i-it seems you two care about each other a lot". 

Dipper raised an eyebrow, confused as why the seemingly confident demon would stumble over words like that. He decided to ignore it. Once again, now was not the time to over think things. 

Tad turned towards the girls. He looked slightly confused but the look disappeared as fast as it had came. He brought them closer. 

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you all" he started laughing. A crazy, evil laugh that made Dipper wince and shiver at the same time. 

He balled his fist and Dipper could hear choking to his left. He tried to turn his head, go see who it was but found he couldn't move. Dipper started to panic. The choking only grew louder and turned into sobs. It was only a matter of time before whoever it was stopped breathing. 

"D-dip" the voice sounded familiar. Dippers eyes widened.

"Mabel oh my gosh" he started wriggling, trying to get out of Tad's grip and help his sister. But once again, he couldn't move. Tears now streamed freely from his eyes and down his cheeks. He started screaming her name, hoping it wasn't too late. Dipper could hear Pacifica to his right, yelling curses at the demon. 

Tad only grinned. He opened up his fist. Dipper could hear sharp, jagged breathing through the sobs that came from his sister. He sighed but he knew this wasn't over. Tad dropped Mabel to the floor and only now could he finally glance at her. There was a red mark on her neck. She was on the floor, seemingly too weak and out of breath to get up. Her eyes were closed tightly and she was still crying. Dippers heart ached. 

The demon shrugged it off, ignoring the girls pleas to let the others go. He turned towards Pacifica, the same grin, a little wider than before, on his face. Pacifica started sobbing harder. Dipper looked around, finally being able to move his head around. He spotted his gun, strewn on the floor, not far from his feet. He started wiggling his legs as Tad started to wave his hands around. He heard a scream but ignored it, he was determined to get the gun. 

The tip of his foot touched it and he began pulling it closer, slowly so the demon wouldn't notice until it was too late. The gun was finally underneath him. He wondered if he could kill Tad with it before realising it wouldn't. But, Ford had a plan and the gun would definitely stun him and give them enough time to escape. Dippers arms were by his sides, he couldn't move them. His heartbeat quickened as the heard another body drop to the floor. 

"Dipper Pines" Dipper looked up to see Tad staring at him with eager blue eyes.

Mabel and Pacifica were huddled on the floor, crying and covered in blood. Dipper looked away from them, holding back fresh tears. 

"Tad" 

Tad walked closer to him, seeming to not realised the gun beside the brunette. He let Dipper drop to the floor but as soon as his feet hit stone, he was flung to the other side of the room. Dipper smashed into the wall. He felt something snap. Was it his arm? He didn't know, everything was numb. Tad was standing in front of him, glaring down. His hand was raised. Dipper closed his eyes, waiting to be thrown again. He felt himself rising and the was lightly tossed to the side. 

He grunted as he hit the floor, sliding slightly from the impact with the ground. His arm was throbbing, the only thing he could feel. He spotted the gun laying next to him and reached out. He grabbed it and pulled himself into a sitting position. Aiming the gun at Tad, be pressed down on the trigger. A ball of light started forming. It grew and grew until it was the size of Dipper's head. 

By the time Tad had realised what he was doing and was sprinting towards him. Dipper pressed down hard on the trigger and the ball of light broke away. It hit Tad square in the chest and he fell over. Electricity flowed through him and he lay of the ground, twitching. Dipper was grateful the gun actually worked on demons. 

He got up and help the girls up. Mabel wasn't that bad, a little bruised. Pacifica was worse, she was bruised badly, a stream of blood trailing from her lip. Mabel lifted her up bridal style and ran down the stairs, which were surprisingly still there. Dipper ran up to Bill, breaking the shackles and making him drop to the floor. He groaned. Dipper copied Mabel, picking him up bridal style and following his sister. If he was lucky, Tad wouldn't follow them. 

They ran as fast as they could back to the shack. Once they arrived, they cleaned both the blondes wounds and wrapped bandages around them. Mabel held an icepack to her cheek. Pacifica had woken up, taking her place on the wheel next to Mabel. Dipper was standing on the pine tree symbol. 

Everyone was set to go. Bill still hadn't woken up, which served as a problem. Ford had placed him in the middle, hoping he'd wake up and get what they were doing. They could only hope...


	39. Chapter 39

Bill cipher opened his eyes and shot up into a sitting position. He looked around, noticing feet surrounding him. Feet in shoes he didn't recognise. He stared around the circle, waiting for his head to stop throbbing. He noticed Wendy's trademark mud caked boots and suddenly realised what was happening. Ignoring the ache in his ribs and jaw, he stood up, dusting himself off. He made eye contact with Ford, who simply nodded at him. Bill nodded back, rubbing his hands together. This would take a while, he was still weak from the first time Tad almost killed him. 

His gaze stopped on Dipper. He had bruises all over his arms and a particularly big one on his cheek but he looked as happy as ever. He gave Bill a cute grin, urging him on. There was only a matter of time before Tad woke up. Understanding this, Bill threw his hands up, engulfing them in light blue flames. The circle lit up cyan. Everyone stared in wonder for a while, marveling how their symbols lit up in the pretty colour. 

Ford broke the silence with his gruff, monotone voice "hold hands with the people next to you" he glared around the circle before grabbing grabbing Pacifica and Gideons hands. 

Everyone hesitantly held hands until the circle was complete. By this time, everyone was glowing a very light cyan, illuminating the entire shack in the colour. Bill closed his eyes, focusing on all his magic. Or what was left of his powers. He could feel them slowly draining. He didn't have much time to do this and it scared him. Suddenly, a loud crash could be heard from outside. Bill ignored it, using his magic to make sure nobody let go or turned their head. 

He threw back his head, eyes glowing blue. He started chanting, getting louder each time. There was another crash and a familiar blue figure zoomed past the window. The door was slammed open and Bill chanted faster. His heart was beating fast, he could feel more magic coming. Much more powerful than his. There were footsteps, loud and hard against the wooden floor. 

Tad appeared in the doorway, his eyes a dark red, his pupils just blue slits. Fangs were peaking from his bottom lip and his fingers were claws. Literally claws. He stopped chanting and opened his eyes. He stared at Tad as the room began to glow even brighter. He smiled and moved his arms, raising them in the air. He clapped his hands and a trail of blue fire spread from the circle and through the room. It didn't stop there, traveling out of the room until the entirety of gravity falls was blanketed in the glow.

Tad screamed, dropping to his knees. He was...melting? That's what it looked like to everyone present in the mysterious empty room. By now, everyone was gripping onto their peers hand, out of fear and excitement. Tad kept on screaming until he was a puddle of magic on the floor. The blue light died down and only now did everyone let go. They all sighed. It was over, no more threats. 

Bill stepped out of the group, kicking the puddle. It flowed though a crack in the shack floor, never to be seen again. Bill smiled a genuine smile. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Ignoring the slight jolt of pain, he turned around to look into Dippers eyes. He was grinning goofily. Dipper pulled Bill out of the shack, leading him onto a large cliff overlooking the small town of gravity falls. He at down and Bill sat next to him. 

"So this is it?" Dipper asked, resting his hand on Bill's. 

Bill felt his cheeks heat up but ignored it. "I guess" he replied. 

Dipper breathed in and closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and looked at Bill. Bill stared back, trying not to blush too much. 

"So.. I really like you Bill" he scooted closer to the demon. "And I was wondering if, Y'know... If you wanted to be my boyfriend or something??" He turned away, fidgeting with his fingers "I mean, if you want to-"

Bill cut him off. He pulled the brunettes face closer to his and kissed him. Dipper kissed back, breathing out slowly. Bills face lit up, he suddenly felt no pain. They both pulled back a minute later, panting slightly. 

"Yes" Bill said, laughing. 

Dipper grinned back, leaning on Bills shoulder and looking down at gravity falls. Now it was Bills turn to fidget. He was worried about something that might destroy his future with Dipper. 

"Hey Pine tree" Bill said, speaking quietly "I think I'm losing my powers". 

Dipper sat up, turning to his lover with wide, worried eyes. He raised an eyebrow, motioning for him to carry on. 

"I-i don't know what'll happen if or when I lose it" he took in a shaky breath "I might die, like permanently, or I might become a human". 

Dipper squeezed Bill's hand, giving him and encouraging smile.

"Whatever happens, I'll always be here for you" he murmured, watching the sun set, blanketing the town in a beautiful orange glow. 

Dipper stood up, reaching out a hand to help the smaller up. They walked hand in hand back to the shack. By now, the small group had left, everyone but the Pines, Wendy and soos, who were celebrating with drinks and junk food. The new couple walked into the living room. Mabel noticed their intertwined hands and almost fangirled. Almost. Dipper glared at her. 

On that day, both had come out to their peers. Stan and Ford had given hem strange looks but Mabel had slapped their arms and nodded at him to encourage and congratulate them and they finally obliged. 

By now, it was almost midnight. The party had gone on longer than expected and everyone was now tired. Dipper sat down on his bed, wearing a loose shirt and shorts. He patted the space next to his bed, wiggling his eyebrows. Bill blushed and lay down next to him. Dipper mumbled happily and wrapped his arms around the smaller, resting his chin on the top of his head. Bill closed his eyes and smiled. He had never felt like this. And it felt good.


	40. Chapter 40

Mabel Pines lay side by side with Pacifica Northwest, her best friend and lover. Their hands were intertwined as they stared back up into the sky. It had been hours since they had saved the world though to them it now felt like days. It was growing dark, the sky a deep purple, was lit up by a full moon. Somewhere deep in the woods the pair could hear a wolf howling but they chose to ignore it. Instead, they turned their heads, staring lovingly into the others eyes. For the first time in a while, it was quiet and they were making the most of it. 

"So" Pacifica said, her voice cracking from the little use. They had been staring up at the sky for a while now. "What now?"

Mabel sat up slightly, propping her chin on the palm of her hand. The two were laying on the cliff overlooking gravity falls, hoping to catch some constellations that were said to have been spotted. Excited, the two had run up, leaving Stan and Ford to deal with Dipper and Bill. 

Mabel stared into Pacifica's bright green eyes, a goofy smile on her face. She felt giddy but she didn't know why. Maybe it was because she was with her favourite person in the world. Pacifica.  
"Well, we still have the majority of the summer left together" the brunette mumbled, stifling a yawn and dropping back onto her side. 

"What about after that?" 

"I'll come next year" 

Pacifica turned towards Mabel, tears threatening to spill. She quickly wiped them away with her cardigan sleeve. "What if you don't? I don't want to be alone again..." 

Mabel pulled Pacifica into a tight hug, running her hand through her blonde locks as the other sobbed into her chest. 

"Hey, its okay, Paz! I can move out next year... Or in a couple of years" Mabel said "but either way, I'll never forget about you". 

"Promise" came a small, muffled voice. 

Mabel nodded "promise" she placed a kiss on top of Pacifica's head and broke out of the hug.

They both lay on the soft grass, staring up at the sky. Mabel blinked, eyes darting around. She shot up into a sitting position, pointing towards a line of stars tucked away in the corner of the sky.

"Is that the Big Dipper?" Mabel laughed and soon enough, Pacifica joined in. 

"I wonder if Dipper and Bill are looking at the stars" Pacifica whispered, not wanting to ruin the moment. 

Mabel snorted "they're probably asleep". 

They both chuckled again. 

"The stars are so pretty tonight" Mabel said, breaking the peaceful silence they had been in. 

Pacifica nodded, too tired to talk. 

"Should we go back now?" 

Another nod and a loud yawn answered Mabel's question. 

Smiling, Mabel got up, helping her tired girlfriend up and getting into the golf cart. Mabel drove slowly back to the shack before running up to her room and dropping Pacifica on her bed. The brunette slid under the covers after her, breathing in the others scent. This was nice. This felt nice. It felt natural. Mabel snuggled closer to Pacifica, smiling in her sleep. The stars glowed through the covered window, illuminating the room in a white glow. 

In the room below Bill and Dipper were fast asleep, in a position much like the other couple. Bill was hanging off the side of the bed, snoring slightly. Dipper held up him, his head on the demons chest. From his small window, the Big Dipper was glowing, the only light source in the room.

Everything was peaceful in the Pines household. That is, until another monster comes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally finished. If anyone's interested in a sequel/bonus chapters comment below! :D


End file.
